


Anywhere

by eul0gies



Category: Banana Bus Squad, Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Action, Death, Drama, F/F, F/M, Multi, Surprises, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, a lot of death wow, sad stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-22 21:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11975040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eul0gies/pseuds/eul0gies
Summary: When a new and dangerous epidemic breaks out that turns people into the living dead upon being bitten, a young adult named (Y/n) (L/n) takes it upon herself to go solo and try to survive in this new world. She meets a group of boys when she breaks into a seemingly empty apartment one day and when they ask her if she'd like to join their group she accepts their offer gratefully. Though suddenly when they meet an unusual group of serial killers, mayhem breaks through between the two groups and everything becomes chaotic.





	1. introduction

A short (s/c) woman with (h/l), (h/c) hair which was pulled up into a (bun/ponytail/braid/etc.) and dull (e/c) which were once bright and full of life had been wearing a dirtied up grey and white raglan baseball tee, and some brown ripped up skinny jeans, fit with aqua colored converse as she shouldered a (f/c) backpack. The (brunette/ravenette/blonde/etc.) girl was now striding along the streets of a town along the outskirts of L.A which was no longer filled with bustling people and business men selling their products, but now was filled with walking corpses- or what the girl called "geeks" which was a stupid name for them but she genuinely liked it.

The young woman's name was (Y/n) (L/n), or otherwise known as (n/n), and she was 25, but didn't have anyone to rely on as she was all by herself. She didn't exactly like being alone but she knew there was nobody left except the dead and well.... she would occasionally find people but they weren't good people to say the least. It just shows what a virus can do to people nowadays which is why she tended to stay away from them. But, the poor girl didn't expect what was to come for her as her (e/c) eyes fixed on an apartment building with an open window as she walked toward it before bashing a geek in the skull with her trusty crowbar, flicking the blood off after it's corpse dropped down.

(Y/n) pulled herself over a fence with the newfound muscle she'd developed from her time in the apocalypse, and began to walk over to the fire exit stairway of the apartment. She proceeded to climb up the stairwell until she came across the window that'd been open and diving through, picking herself up with a small smile as she threw her (f/c) backpack to the floor. (Y/n) began to search the apartment's complex for any geeks, but once she found there were no sign of any corpses or groans or any of that shit she decided it was a safe place to be in.

She began searching in cabinets, drawers, and dressers for any supplies she'd need. Whatever she found she would shove into her backpack such as clothing (which she found a lot, they were really loose on her though.), canned food, bottled water, medical equipment. just whatever. Eventually she grabbed a bottled water and took a gulp, setting it aside as she stumbled into the closest bedroom and climbed into the duvet of the rooms queen sized bed. Closing her eyes tightly, and trying to get whatever amount of rest she could before she took off again.

Suddenly the creek of a door alarmed her. (Y/n) jumped out of the bed not bothering to fix it and make it seem like it was untouched, but throwing herself into the bedroom's closet and closing the door stealthily before realizing she left her stuff in what was the living room. She groaned and facepalmed at herself before slumping into the wall of the closet, hiding herself under boxes and clothes the best she could as she listened.

The (s/c) girl could hear a lot of male laughter, and unfamiliar male voices. (Y/n) hugged herself tightly as she could hear a boy with a slight british accent yell, "Who left their (f/c) backpack in here?" followed by a chorus of 'what's'. "This isn't any of ours, and I would know." a mellow voice stated. "Do you think they left?" a man with a voice and an irish accent asked before there was a pause, but soon enough she could hear a low sigh. "If they left why would they leave their stuff?" another deep voice said and she could hear a snort as another man said, "Let's look around for him then." and after that was said she realized that offended her... 'him'?.... "they better hope they don't find me or I'm gonna fight them." she muttered under her breath.

She heard someone shuffle around the bedroom she was in, and the sound of sheets moving. "Wait a second, that closet wasn't closed this morning." a man mumbled to himself and she mentally cursed at yourself but continued to stay silent as the closet doors opened. He turned on the closet's light and she could see his features. He wore a bloody hockey mask, but underneath his mask she could see his baby blue eyes and his honey colored skin, he had black hair that was styled in a quiff, she noticed his ears were pierced and had small gauges. He wore a blue hoodie that was white on the inside, underneath his hoodie was a black t-shirt, he was wearing black skinny jeans and black sneakers.

When the two caught each others eyes they both began to scream simultaneously and (Y/n) jumped up from her spot and made a run for the door but ended up bumping into someones chest and falling straight on her bottom.  She looked up and backed up into the post of the bed, staring between a group of males who were either looking confused or excited. She looked back at the boy near the closet who was still a little bit freaked out before staring back at the boys as they were now looking amongst each other with a small nod.

Then before the (h/c) girl knew it, all nine of the boys had their guns out and pointed at her. Her eyebrows furrowed as she threw her hands up in surrender,  (Y/n) began to stutter out an explanation "I-I was only passing by and seen an open w-window, I though-" but she was cut off by a very tall and muscular asian man with black hair that was gelled up, a red jacket on that had white stripes, black jeans, and red converse. "It's okay we won't hurt you, we get it." The male said as he lowered his hand at his group and they understood what he meant as they all lowered their guns. (Y/n) exhaled loudly in relief.

"Thank you." She thanked and gave the man a small but unsure smile, as she wasn't sure why he would trust her so easily and she noticed his friends looked unsure/uncertain as well.  The man nodded and leaned on the dresser that was sitting against the wall, and looked her up and down which made her uncomfortable but she felt as if she made the wrong move the guns would be out on her again and she didn't exactly want that to happen so she looked away but looked back when he said something else, "My name is Evan, or Vanoss. I respond to either." Evan said awkwardly which made (Y/n) nod and look back at the group in silence. "So uh...." she trailed off looking between the boys. "What's everyone's elses names?" (Y/n) questioned, fumbling with her hands.

The tallest in the group was the first to speak, he had cream colored skin which really suit his features, she could see black curly hair peak out from underneath his red beanie, he had glasses, and his eyes were a comforting shade of green, and he had a slight beard. He was sporting a red plaid flannel, he was wearing a gta v shirt underneath, brown skinny jeans and green osiris sneakers. "My name is David, but you can call me Nogla." He said with an irish accent as he gave an adorable toothy grin which made (Y/n) smile slightly.

Next was the shortest male in the group and was almost as short as the (h/c) girl, the boy who had latte colored skin, he had a low fade haircut with a long fringe that was pulled back into a ponytail, he had sparkling brown eyes, and he also had a slight stubble that looked recently shaved. The boy was wearing an oversized red hoodie with it's strings pulls out and a white hood, under his hoodie was a plain white tee shirt with some noticeable stains, some light brown cargo shorts, with red converse. He smiled at (Y/n) before clearing his throat, "My name is Lui!! Just Lui though." he exclaimed in his squeaker voice which made (Y/n) squint confused at him before chuckling. "Is that your real voice, or are you just fucking with me?" The (h/c) girl questioned with a laugh. "Nah." Lui replied with his actual voice as he smirked.

Another man stepped in front of (Y/n), and gave her a rather charming smile without meaning to before he held out his hand which she took and pulled her up. "Brian, or Terroriser if you will." He introduced in his own irish accent, and the girl nodded. Brian wasn't as tall as Evan or David but was still kinda tall, he had ivory colored skin that had a few cuts but they didn't look too bad, brown eyes that made (y/n) want to stare into them, his hair was a brown and he also had a quiff but it was combed to the side lazily, and he had a bit of a stubble. He wore a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt that peaked out slightly from under his jacket, he had some blue jeans, and combat boots. He looked like a greaser if (Y/n) wanted to be honest.

A man with a rather big forehead was the next one to introduce himself to her. Aside from his strangely large forehead, he was a fair-skinned man, with curly hair that had a denim blue dyed at the tips of his hair and looking as if it was growing its brunette roots back, he had glasses that framed his blueish gray colored eyes perfectly. He was wearing a grey zip up hoodie, with a bacon&strips t-shirt that peaked out slightly from underneath it, he was wearing blue jeans as well, with some sneakers to finish his outfit off. "I'm Craig, or Mini." He smiled and put his hands in his pockets. (Y/n) nodded and smiled back at him, sitting on the bed.

Next was another boy, but he was average height. He was a little buff, but cute. He was slightly tan, fit with black eyes, and he had brown and short curly hair that suit his feature well. His attire consisted of a gotham t-shirt, grey jeans, and nike sneakers. He seemed like a really plain guy. He scratched the back of his neck as he said "Moo." which made (Y/n) squint at him with confusion written all over his face. "Brock, or Moo." He gave an awkward side grin and she made an 'o' shape with her mouth as she nodded. "Hi Moo." She greeted with her own cheeky grin as he waved shyly.

The last of the three who didn't introduce themselves yet looked between the other and finally one of them gave a sigh and turned to (Y/n). This one was as tall as Evan, he looked down at the shorter girl. Now, he was a fair-skinned male like Craig was, he had brown hair that was styled in a small quiff but it was a little messy, his blue eyes was the first thing (Y/n) noticed about him though, and he had a small scruff of hair at his chin and above his upper lip. The taller male was wearing a t-shirt with a pink cat on it under a black nike zip-up hoodie, with brown cargo shorts, as well as some nike sneakers to go with his hoodie. "I'm Wildcat, but you can call me Tyler if you want." Tyler shrugged and looked at the other two.

The two looked at each other before a average height male looked at (Y/n) confidently, "Okay." he said with no context whatsoever. He stood in front of the (h/c) girl and gave a small but comforting smile. "I'm Marcel." Marcel said, and leaned against the wall cooly. "You got a nickname, Marcel?" (Y/n) asked with an eyebrow raised. "Basically." He stated with a shrug. The girl looked at him with a confused expression before realizing his nickname _was_ Basically. She laughed. Marcel had dark mocha colored skin, and dark eyes, his hair was short and black that was sort of puffed out cleanly. He wore a hoodie that sort of resembled Finn's hat and blue shirt from adventure time, and black skinny jeans with indigo converse to finish it off.

Now, the last one. (Y/n) already knew what he looked like from the run-in earlier, but had no idea was his name was. He was definitely taller than her and Lui but not as tall as the other several of his friends which made him less intimidating to the shorter girl. He walked over to her and rubbed his arm. "You're not gonna scream at me again, are you?" He asked (Y/n) cautiously as she shook her head 'no'. She noticed his voice kind of sounded a bit funny and took up psychotic sounding tone in her opinion which was a weird mix but she thought it was somewhat cute. "Well, I'm Delirious. Only Delirious though." He introduced, giving her a smiling she couldn't see due to his hockey mask. "It's nice to meet you, Delirious. Maybe we can scream with each other again sometime." (Y/n) joked as she gave a cheeky grin at the taller boy. He snorted as he chuckled at the girl, "Sure." he replied.

(Y/n) stood up from her spot on the bed and stretched. "We never got your name." David stated gesturing toward her. She widened her eyes and scratched her head. "(Y/n) or (N/n), I don't care whichever one you call me. I answer to both." She replied and grinned. Evan looked at her and got her attention as he cleared his throat. "Are you alone?" the ravenette asked and she nodded in response. "Well, would you by chance want to join our group for however long?" Evan questioned the girl again, waiting for her response as she thought quietly about the question. She looked at the boys for a brief moment before shrugging and saying, "Fuck it, why not?" to Evan as he chuckled a little at her. "Well welcome to the crew, I guess." He welcomed as the boys also joined in, patting her on the shoulder and what not. She gave a grinned at the boys before replying herself, "Good to be here, bud."


	2. chapter one, "peculiarity"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so man idk, i wrote this all like last month so i have no idea what's going on but im posting this from what i have on quotev so here y'all go i guess idk what's going on

(Y/n)'s POV

 

It had been a week after meeting the boys, and honestly it's been a warm welcome for me ever since the disease began to spread which was at least a month ago. We've gone on a few supply runs together as a group and honestly in the time we've all spent together I can say that all nine of them are a bunch of goofy, sweet, and caring boys with their own wonderful individual personalities that I've come to love so far in this chaotic time in my life. I can describe a few of their personalities as they weren't hard to read whatsoever, like for instance Evan.

Now, Evan seems like he's the leader of the group which he sort of is but it's only because mostly nobody in the group would rather take up the responsibility of group other than him. The group really looks up to him and he's exactly quite protective of them considering you've seen him save them and myself countless times when we weren't paying attention. Evan is usually serious but he can be very nice, that is when he's talking though because he's very quiet most of the time. Strangely enough, Evan never gets angry he's always so calm and laid back unlike the others in our group. Sometimes when he talks, he can say some incredibly gay things to like Del or Tyler that's a little bit questionable but I also noticed everyone in the group said or did some gay things from time to time, especially Brock. Also, he tends to be very sneaky and knows his way around most things which is helpful in many situations.

David is a really sweet and compassionate guy, he genuinely wants to listen to everyone's problems and he's willing to give them advice if it's something he feels they should do if it'd help them. In my opinion, he's a great friend and I take his advice whenever I need it. He really does care for his friends even if they are a little rude to him and tease him a lot but I honestly don't think he minds it cause' he knows it's just playful fun and even he does it from time to time. In any case, he's a really down to earth guy and he's the type of guy I'd trust with anything really.

Then we have Tyler, whose a extremely blunt with a bit of an inappropriate taste but tolerable at that. Even though he's a little reckless with his words he's pretty easy to talk to, but there is other days when he can be a absolute flat out dick. He usually knows when he goes too far and he usually apologizes for it if it gets that bad which puts him on his nicer side. Tyler can actually be pretty nice at times and he really doesn't show it often, it's hard to tell honestly with him though cause' he's a bit all over the place. He could be nice to suddenly angry and screaming at whatever made him mad- like a tree branch smacking him in the face or maybe Craig doing something rather stupid. I noticed he's pretty close with Evan and Craig, and he gets really protective over them.

Delirious is a mysterious boy, not just because of the fact he never takes off his mask to the point of sleeping with it on or the fact he only goes by his nickname "Delirious" but for many reasons other than that. Evan told me before that the only person that really knew what he looked like was his best friend, Luke. I shrugged that fact off because even though his identity was kept a secret, but I didn't really want to know what he looked like as I respected him. But anyways, Delirious is really crazy and his laugh is probably one of my favorite things in the world right now. His laugh was really psychotic sounding but it was one of those contagious laughs you couldn't get enough of. Del makes sure that nobody gets left behind or he's always making sure that everyone is safe, and would save them in a heartbeat cause' he's just so caring. He's also really funny and from time to time he never really knows what he's saying so he says things that are really out of context or just misspeaks in general. He's the same as Evan in the aspect of the fact that he never really gets mad. He will get a little bit annoyed when the boys tease him if he misspoke a sentence or said something stupid but he still never really gets mad. Del is adorkable I had to admit and he was really fun to be around at that.

Speaking of "fun to be around", we have Lui. Lui is an especially fun to be around guy, and if you're going through a hard time Lui is always there to say something really childish or cute in his squeaker voice which makes me laugh or chuckle. That's all he really has to do to make anyone in our small group laugh. I mean the boy can be a little bit childish from time to time and say some slightly inappropriate things we kinda gag at but he's actually really serious at heart. Oh and another thing, he's one of the few boys in our group that you should run from when they're mad. He's not a nice person when he gets pissed off and he's a little hard to calm down but he eventually gets over it. That doesn't change the fact he's a little scary though when upset.

My favorite in the group would have to be Brock. Probably because he's the most softest in the group with a light hearted chuckle. Sure there were times he would say some things that were certainly out of his personality but whatever it was, was probably funny or something. Brock also liked to make a lot of puns which made everyone including me groan at while he just chuckled plainly. Brock was also the guy in the group who said the most gayest things/jokes which was just easy to get use to because it was something we all did a lot. He would also talk about his wife, Lauren, who was pregnant at the time of when the apocalypse started and got separated from but he always told everyone he was gonna get back to her with a determined voice which always made me smile because of his loyalty for her. Despite the fact he could be really awkward and quiet sometimes I managed to get along quite well with him and he was just a nice guy in general and I truly respected him.

Craig was also someone you got along with quite well, not as much as the others maybe but whenever we got a chance to speak we both hit it off quite well. Craig was a really sweet guy and could get really mad like Lui and Tyler, but probably not as mad as Marcel could be though. He was a generally friendly and outgoing guy, and he laughed whenever someone would tease him or joke around which was a nice thing that he wouldn't get offended by his friends playfulness and he also likes to joke around too. Craig also had a nice mindset which I could kind of relate to and he seemed really charming in your opinion. Craig had just a considerate way of doing things, and I really loved him for that.

Marcel is pretty cool too. He gets pretty angry from time to time and he likes to break things when he's mad, as well as punching the nearest thing next to him which usually happens to be a wall or maybe like Evan's abs which is basically the equivalent to punching a brick. Just like Tyler, he can be pretty blunt but he's not a dick. He's also pretty overprotective of his friends too. I wouldn't mess with him when he's in one of those moods though. But other than his how how angry he can be, he's pretty nice and makes sure everyone's alright, so in any case he does care about his friends. He's not as helpful and probably wouldn't go back for anyone like Delirious though, but I couldn't be too sure. I haven't interacted with Marcel much but I can tell he's a very colorful person, even if he swears and breaks things a lot. He can be a bit unpredictable sometimes too, but that doesn't not mean he's a great guy. Because he is.

The last one I had to think about was probably Brian. The most teased in the group aside from Craig and David. The boys would always encourage him to do "the voice" which apparently was an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice impression that the group said was funny and good, but I haven't heard it yet because every time they told him to do it he looked away with a flustered expression and shouted, "come on guys you know it hurts my throat." and I were sure that was his excuse but nonetheless Brian had more to do with him than his voice impressions. Brian had a charming personality I had to admit, along with his good looks. He was a very empathetic, honest, and sometimes he could be a little offensive but it wasn't much of a problem in my opinion. He also got mad a lot like the other boys but still not on Marcel's level. Brian was moderate, and I liked that about him.

As much as I liked to think about their personalities and what not, I had to think about the present and where I was currently. Evan thought it would be a decent idea if we went to a mall and we were currently there in the center of the mall right next to a rather large fountain. "Alright!" Evan exclaimed as we all stood silently. 'Alright!' was what Evan said to catch our attentions during runs or other various events. "So we're a group of 10 now right?" He asked as he pointed at everyone as if he was silently counting at everyone but stopped when Craig replied with a simple, "Yeah.".

Evan nodded before throwing us all an awkward smile. "I think we should split into a group of two's so we can find supplies faster and more spread out." He proposed as we looked at each other with thoughtful glances before we all nodded in agreement to Evan's idea. "Do you all have your bags and weapons with you?" Evan asked questioningly with an eyebrow raised. Sometimes the boys forget their things and we have to take an extra stop and grab another bag or just find a melee weapon like a bat or something. Everyone nodded when they double checked to see if they did have what they needed, including me. "Alright, now don't use your guns unless it's absolutely necessary." Evan added after he got everyone's approval.

"Get into your groups then." Evan demanded passively as he walked up beside Del and slung a lazy arm over his shoulder. Tyler looked at Craig who was spacing out into the distance and rolled his eyes before grabbing the sleeve of Craig's zip-up, pulling Craig to his side. Lui hopped onto David's back childishly, and David grabbed his legs and was now giving him a piggy back. Marcel looked at the closest person who was next to him which happened to be Brian and they both shrugged leaving me and Brock as the last group.

I looked at Brock awkwardly and felt him shift uncomfortably under my gaze. "Sah' dude?" I asked in one of those 'bro' voices while I flopped my hand around in a stupid manner which made him chuckle at my lame and rather childish action. I grinned in response after hugging my (f/c) backpacks shoulder straps tightly and giving a nod to Evan who immediately nodded back. "If something happens, scream or shoot your gun and we'll all meet up back here in this same spot." Evan advised sternly as we all nodded in understanding, and with that.... our five groups dispersed into different directions as the other. Brock and I looked around the halls lazily as David and Lui followed in suit as they both discussed something quietly to each other.

The two boys behind us were laughing at something stupid, and while Brock and I stayed uncomfortably silent. "So, when you find Lauren are you gonna leave us behind?" I asked in a rather bored, breaking the silence. "I haven't thought of that yet, but I guess if she doesn't want to be around the guys then I can figure something out I guess." Brock shrugged, but I could tell he thought it was nice how I didn't assume she was dead yet and butt into his space. I nodded at him, putting my thumbs in my pockets as I walked along quietly. Brock suddenly pointed at a store that looked colorful and was full of different colored candies.

I smiled at his choicing and grabbed his wrist as I pulled him a long with me and once we got inside the store, we immediately began to grab plastic bags and shove a mixed choice of candy we liked or knew the other boys liked. We tied the bags of candy up and shoved the small plastic candy filled bags into our backpack, then we both exited the store when we decided what we had was enough. I walked in a random direction with Brock and ended up talking about our past lives. I found out that Brock and the boys use to do Youtube together and they all knew each other before this all started, and he found out that I use to do journalism but didn't really like it that much so I quit. We shared a few jokes, maybe a couple puns, and we laughed at each other quite a lot.

We ended up at the food court where Marcel and Brian were already shoving their backpacks with food such as frozen pizza, frozen chinese food, vegetables, whatever they could. "Hey." I suddenly said to the boys and got two guns shoved in Brock and I's faces with two genuinely scared expressions from the two taller boys in front of us. Brock yelped in surprise while I stood in shock as the boys sighed in relief as they lowered their guns. "I'm so sorry." Marcel apologized while Brian gave us an apologetic glance.

Brock nodded and shook me lightly. I snapped out of my small shock as I turned to Brock with my own terrified expression and breathed out a shaky breath. I looked back in front of me, giving the other two a scared smile. "It's fine guys." I said quietly with a gulp. Brian sighed and hugged me, with Marcel and Brock in suit. We pulled away from each other after a few minutes as the awkward silence kicked in and we all started laughing because of it, Marcel grinned at us as he ruffled my (h/c) hair. "Now that you two are here, we should get shit done!" Marcel laughed, shoving Brian lightly as Brian chuckled himself. We started having a flour war when Brock found a bag of flour. I think Marcel won that one though, and we all actually decided to work with each other so we could get the job done quicker.

Eventually, our backpacks became filled and the four of us decided to head back. The group was already waiting for us at the fountain and seemed to be conversing together quietly, Delirious looked up at us since he was sitting on the ground. "Finally!" He shouted in annoyance upon seeing us, the group turned and they looked a little annoyed with us but looked utterly confused when they seen us covered in a white powdery substance. "So, who had the cocaine and didn't share?" Tyler joked with a glare. The group laughed at his remark, but Marcel turned to Brock and crossed his arms. "Well, if someone didn't make a mess we wouldn't have the damned thing all over us." Marcel went along with the joke.

"Sorry!" Brock exclaimed and threw his hands up as Brian and I just laughed to ourselves and shook our heads. Though our joking around and laughing was cut off as a knife whizzed past Evan's head but missing him completely. We turned to the direction where the knife had been thrown from with shock. There was a group of at least nine people standing there but I couldn't see what their features looked like as they were directly in the shade. I could feel the boys start to become angry due to the fact someone just tried to kill one of our good friends, and I could feel my fists clench as well as I stared at the unknown group.

"Oh damn, I missed." a disgustingly raspy voice laughed in the darkness as we still glared. The unknown man just continued to laugh at us while we glared at him with hate filled eyes.


	3. chapter two, "altercation"

Evan/Vanoss' POV

 

Brock laughed as he shouted, "Sorry!" before he threw his hands up in the air. Brian and (Y/n) laughed quietly as they shook their heads, Marcel smiled at him, Tyler wheezed, I couldn't tell what Del was doing because he was masked but I could see his shoulders moving probably because he might of been laughing or having a seizure I don't know, Craig crossed his arms and chuckled lightly, David and Lui were toppled over each other while they laughed, and I just laughed but stopped immediately as I felt a cold breeze brush passed my face and the sound of metal hitting the ground.

My group was staring at a hallway with barely any lighting whatsoever, and you could barely see the outline of another group of people. There was a lot of tension in the air, but it became aggressive as a man with a rather hoarse voice laughed smugly and said, "Oh damn, I missed." which caused the boys and (Y/n) to stare him down angrily. I could see Del move forward about to lunge but I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back as I whispered a quick, "It's not worth it." which he nodded to. I began to stare with hatred at the disgustingly deformed man myself.

"Y'know, glaring at me isn't gonna scare me away. It's cute." The man cackled once more before he stepped into the light revealing his pale skin, pale skin, burnt out eyelids that made my skin crawl, but his eyelids weren't the thing that made me a little terrified, it was the slits in his cheek that formed a "smile" as it would be. He wore a white hoodie with blood caked all over it which made me question to myself if he'd been bitten or just covered in shit, and black pants. I didn't give a shit about his shoes but they were probably basic too.

I managed to shove all my fear away, and pipe up a smile as I leaned on Tyler cooly. "You don't scare me either." I said, giving a cheeky grin. "In fact, I think you could've aimed better than that." I continued which made the man smile- which he was already in a sense but fuck it, he smiled at my words. "You want another round?" he laughed again while he pulled something out of his hoodie pocket that shined in the light. I knew that it was a knife, there's no lying here. Tyler pushed me off of him and glared, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Ty hissed loud enough for me to hear. I shrugged, in honesty I had no idea what I was doing but let's say I was playing it off when I muttered, "Just trust me"

"What's your name?" I questioned the man as he raised an eyebrow at me. Probably because he was a lil' confused I was asking for his name instead of running or some shit, I mean he threw a knife at me for fucks sake. "My name is Jeff." He replied, which made me looked at Tyler as I snorted. Tyler seemed to have understood why I thought that was a little funny cause' he laughed a bit too. Tyler looked at Jeff with a smirk, "Hey, you watch 21 Jump Street at any point?" Tyler suddenly asked.

Tyler's question caught Jeff off but he nodded as he twirled the knife in his hand. "I've seen a little bit of it sure, yeah. Why?" Jeff asked confusedly. My friends immediately knew what was up as I looked at Tyler and laughed, "Can you re-introduce yourself- y'know. 'My name is Jeff'?" Tyler mocked, laughing at the pale man. I could hear Del mutter a "oh my god" under his breath, Marcel shook his head disappointingly as he pinched the bridge of his nose, Craig laughed, and Brian yelled "Are you kidding me?". Jeff looked a little offended and pointed his knife at Tyler, and I could see Del and Craig tense up and get ready to lunge if need be.

(Y/n) was gripping her crowbar tightly as she was ready to attack any given moment which made me smile a little that she did in fact care about our group. "Think you're really funny don't you, cupcake?" Jeff laughed as he was about to throw his knife, but someone in his group grabbed his wrist before he could and whispered to him so none of us could hear. This someone was another boy who had taller than Jeff and he had grey skin which was unusual and an odd substance was dripping from his eye sockets.

Jeff groaned at the man and nodded before he pushed the man away, resulting in him getting smacked against the head by a rather tall woman with long curly locks. Jeff rubbed his head before he looked at us. "So, my group insists we form an alliance temporarily considering we're running low on supplies. No shady shit, even though I was gonna kill all of you and take all your stuff anyways." Jeff announced, crossing his arms. Unusual for a group of serial killers but I'll take it. I turned to my group and clasped my hands together with a serious look on my face.

"Opinions?" was all I said, but my group understood for they all thought individually for a few minutes. "I think it's a fucking stupid idea." Tyler blurted out as he crossed his arms and glared behind my back, presumably at the other group. "That Jeff guy tried to kill you without saying jack shit earlier!" Tyler shouted which made the other group turn to him and glare briefly. (Y/n) walked up beside Ty and put her hands on his shoulder. "Calm down, Tyler. You'll get yourself killed." She whispered and he grunted but gave a affirmative nod to her.

(Y/n) turned to look at the group and looked at her nails for a second, "They only said it was temporary, right? I say as long as they don't try to kill us, we should provide for them for now until they are fine on their own." she suggested. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow before looking at the rest of the group. "Well, what happens if they try to kill us?" Marcel asked the shorter girl as she looked down in thought for a moment. "I say we return the favor." Delirious piped in and (Y/n) snapped her fingers and pointed at Del as she nodded vigorously in agreement.

The boys all exchanged a glance with each other with a pondering expression placed onto their faces before they turned to me for my opinion which was a unsure shrug. Craig sighed and said, "I don't like them, but what's the worst that could possibly happen?" and the rest just groaned at him. "Murder. Death. Y'know?" Brian snapped at him before Tyler nodded in agreement. "If it comes down to that we can take them on, I mean after all that Jeff guy has terrible aim." Lui protested and David nodded along with him. Tyler rolled his eyes and finally nodded. "I guess, but we only outnumber them by one more person." Tyler added, as the boys all turned to (Y/n) who furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm good company." She snapped.

"So it's settled." I blurted out as I crossed my arms, "We're helping them out until they can survive without us, and if they try to break the deal by attacking us we'll fight harder and stronger." I announced as my group nodded in understanding. I looked back at the other group who were all conversing quietly with each other just as my group had been. Jeff noticed my quick glance and looked up at us, clearing his throat and jabbing a thumb in our general direction.

I looked at Tyler for a second, for literally no reason at all but I noticed the angry expression on his face. I knew he wasn't on good terms with our sudden "establishment" but he wasn't gonna fight about it. I tilted my head in a sassy way at Jeff. "We'll form an alliance with you and your group, on a temporary amount of time. But, only if you agree not to attack or murder any of my people under any circumstances." I proposed before I could see him roll his burnt out eyes and sigh. "I agree, does everyone else agree?" Jeff asked his group and they all nodded or mumbled out a "sure". Jeff slapped his hands on the sides of his thighs in a bored manner.

I blinked quietly and looked at his group awkwardly and they looked back the same way before a blonde boy nudged Jeff and whispered something in his ear quickly before the pale boy rather disgustingly grunted and rolled his eyes then looked at me with a sickened expression. "Introduce your group, I'll introduce mine?" He finally asked and I nodded at him with a simple but indiscreetly unpleasured, "sure." before proceeding to turn towards my group with a distasteful groan.

Tyler was glaring at them still and never moved since, so I decided he'd be the one to call out first. I pointed at him but only used the name we called him on YouTube, "Wildcat." and I moved on pointing at David. "Daithi or Nogla, he goes by either but Nogla is mostly used." I continued as I proceeded to point at Lui. "Lui, we don't call him shortstack or anything so don't try it." I gave Jeff a stern glance as I said that and I could hear him scoff and make a 'get on with it' gesture with his hand which I complied with as I pointed as Marcel next. "Basically." I spoke and pointed at Brian but was cut off by Jeff. "Basically what?" He snapped.

Marcel rolled his eyes and was about to lunge as he yelled, "That's my name, you pale fuck." but David grabbed the back of his Finn hoodie and pulled him back before he could get anywhere and I gave him a quick nod in thanks which was returned almost immediately by the tall man. Jeff also looked pretty shook up but everyone knew he was holding back, which was best for him. I moved on, pointing at Brian again and said his name dully. After pointing at Del and saying "Delirious." the people in Jeff's group looked him up and down and the blonde boy in green said something that made my blood boil but I shoved it down.

He said, "Delirious looks like he should be in our group, he's our type." but he couldn't of known how Del is considering he's not a murderous psychopath that kills people for fun. I pointed at (Y/n) who gave a low smile at me and I smiled back before I said the nickname we gave her, "(N/N)." and went on to point at Craig. "That's Mini, don't question it alright?" I huffed, and Craig looked at the other group with a strange look in his eyes and suddenly gave them a wink as he said, "It's not mini where it matters." in a rather confident way.

My group busted out in laughter, including me and some of the other people in Jeff's group while others just awkwardly stood in silence as they watched their friends laugh at something kind of childish and stupid but leave it to Craig. "Anyways, that's Moo." I pointed at Brock lastly who just awkwardly waved at them. I never told them what my name was and I wasn't gonna just not give it to them, so I put one of my hands on my hip and sneered at the group before I said, "My name is Vanoss, and now it's your turn Jeff."

Jeff just looked over his shoulder to his friends and rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist forward which gave a small click before they all shook their heads at him. I didn't know what he just did, or said to them but they started introducing themselves. The blond boy with sickly pale skin, dark eyes with red pupils, he had a simple black septum piercing along with a few matching black earrings to go with it, and his green hat that looked like Link's hat hung off his head. He wore a tunic similar to Link's but it was changed up a little bit, he had black jeans underneath his tunic and plain brown boots. "BEN Drowned, but just call me BEN. No formalities, I hate that shit." BEN drawled out.

"Homicidal Liu, call me Liu." A new boy said, leaning on a taller boy than him who didn't seem to care about the weight that the boy had been putting on him. Liu, apparently, had cream skin, had brown hair, piercing green eyes, he also had a black septum piercing with a a bit large gauges in his ears, and stitches were placed in slits that looked similar to Jeff's but were sewn shut along with a few cuts on his face here and there. He sported a dark grey and grey striped scarf, a black dress overcoat, with a dark green shirt under it, probably khakis, and black and white sneakers.

The only female in the group was next to speak and she seemed really independent and her voice was smooth when she said, "Jane." and she was interesting as she had a snow colored skin, and pitch black eyes that were covered by a mess of long, black curls that were her hair, she had black lipstick on her upper lip but kept her lower lip a darker color than the original shade of her skin. Jane was wearing a choker, with a black dress that wasn't too short but went past her fingertips, and she had a tan jacket that was intertwined fit with a hood that was cut a few inches below her chest, and black combat boots to go with it. This woman looked intimidating and I was quite proud of my boys for not wolf-whistling or anything of the sort.

A different looking figure that had been watching the whole time stood still but stared as he observed us but soon looked into our eyes before he grumbled, "Plague Doctor." which seemed unusual but hey what the fuck man this whole group they've got is unusual. I literally couldn't see much of his facials features considering his face was covered by a plague doctor mask that only covered half of his face and had a black substance ooze out of it along with a cowl that shades his face, while his face itself had a thick black paint that covered it, as if he was trying to his skin in the shadows of his cloak. His outfit consisted of a black cloak that seemed to have covered a feathery body and covered some of his arms, and finally draping past his feet and onto the floor and that was mostly it. He looks like a crow man. And... well, like a Plague Doctor.

One of the other masked men with a hood stepped up and waved, "Hoodie." he said. His face was covered by a black piece of fabric with a red frown imprinted on it, he wore black gloves, and his hoodie was a beige color, he had black skinny jeans, fit with brown combat boots. Which in my opinion was a little simple. Hoodie slung an arm around another masked boy, who's mask was quite delicate but simple looking as it only had black lips and black painted around it's eye holes. This one had brown hair, and you could see his hazel eyes behind the mask, along with his fair colored skin. He wore a tan jacket, and black skinny jeans, and red converse. "I'm Masky." The boy said dully as he shrugged.

Next was a male with grey skin, and had pitch black eye sockets that oozed a black substance and seemed to be smeared all over his face at that point and also wore black wooden stud earrings. He wore a grin that showed his sharp but pearly white teeth as he walked up to each and everyone of my group and shook their hands, "I'm Eyeless Jack, but you can call me Jack or E.J." he said before looking at (Y/n) and whispering something in her ear which made her flush a deep shade of red and he winked at her and walked back to his group and 'discreetly' high-fived BEN. He was wearing a greyish blue and black baseball tee with a black hood that was coming from underneath it which meant he was layering his clothes, he had black skinny jeans and indigo converse that matched Marcel's. His confidence made me nauseous.

Lastly, "Kagekao" introduced himself. Kagekao sported a black hood that covered his face, but you could see a black and white mask that had a drama seeming theme to it, and was tucked securely under a black and white scarf, with black jeans, and sneakers. He didn't have that much to him really, all he said was "Kagekao" and right after that e didn't really do anything but he just sorta stood there unsure what to do which made it kind of awkward so I just cleared my throat and clapped for a brief moment as I said, "Welcome to the team, for now." and with that everyone picked up their backpacks proceeding to leave the mall without a word.


	4. chapter three, "dissension"

A month had passed since Evan's group came abruptly across Jeff's and formed a temperate alliance. The two groups got along well but a few in the group didn't, like for instance Jeff and Evan, who would constantly argue over who would be able to take up the leadership between the two groups which caused their best friends to get in a bit of a fight with them too. BEN would fight Tyler and Delirious when Evan would start to argue with Jeff. The fact that Evan always raised his voice and got quite aggressive seemed a little unusual and surprising to his group considering he was the most laid back in the group, but in Jeff's case his group was use to it by now.

Now was one of the times where the two were arguing about a decision that was to be made, and this one was about whether they should've taken the risk of going and getting medical supplies from the pharmacy they were directly in front of. Evan argued that they should in case one of them had gotten sick or needed medical attention immediately, but Jeff insisted that if they were to go into the pharmacy that the alarms would go off and cause a group of walkers to come. "You have a point, but what if there isn't any alarms at all and we miss a chance to get some well needed supplies?" Evan concluded, crossing his arms and looking down at the slightly shorter male.

Jeff rolled his eyes before saying, "Well then there's nothing to do about it then." just as Evan turned and began to walk toward the door of the building but was stopped by Jeff tackling him onto the ground which made a cloud of dust and dirt fly up into the air. "You're gonna get everyone killed by taking that risk." Jeff growled as Evan pushed him off effortlessly and rolled his eyes, getting up and dusting himself off. "Yeah well, at least I'm not trying to get everyone killed by not taking the risk. It could potentially help our group!" Evan snapped back and turned on his heels just as Jeff stood up and grabbed the collar of Evan's jacket.

His fist then collided with Evan's nose unnecessarily, which made Evan stagger back a bit as a crimson substance oozed from his nose. Evan touched his upper lip as he felt a strange wetness trickle onto it and looked down at his fingers before he realized that it was bleeding. He looked up at Jeff with hatred filling in his eyes as he then proceeded to tackle him onto the ground and throw a punch. BEN looked up at Delirious who'd been watching the scene in complete shock and socked Del in the face as well, creating a small crack in his hockey mask.

Lui jumped on Homicidal Liu and wrapped his arms around his neck and began to strangle him as he tried to get Lui off of him while David ended up throwing his own fist into Homicidal Liu's jaw which caused Lui and Liu to both go down. Brian was also in a fighting stance with Hoodie and they were both circling each other before Brian threw the first punch that Hoodie easily dodged and went straight under him and kicked his legs out from under him and started kicking him while Brian was on the ground.

Masky had Craig pinned down from underneath him and was trying to choke him but Craig was holding his wrists above him, looking as if he was struggling but managed to throw Masky back and flip him over so he could sock him himself while the two were on the ground still. Hoodie tripped over Craig's body as he was staggering back from an attack from Brian who was waiting for Hoodie to get back up but was kicked by Masky who was now trying to get Craig off of him.

Marcel was trying to get his hands on Kagekao who simply just moved out of the way of every attack Marcel tried to make but ended up getting toppled over by Tyler when Jack managed to push him back. Marcel punched Jack and pushed him back before he grabbed Tyler, pulling him to his feet with a small nod and kicking Kagekao in the face. Marcel was gonna kick again but was interrupted by Kagekao grabbing his ankle and pulling his leg out from under him causing him to get the upper hand and stand up to do the same Marcel had just done to him.

While all this was happening we had (Y/n) and Brock who were yelling at their friends and new group members to stop fighting but not doing a great job at it while Plague Doctor and Jane were watching their friends all fight with deep boredom, not even helping the other two break them up. Jeff and Evan were still going at it too, and were trying to push each other away but it wasn't working out very well. Even though Evan had more muscle than Jeff did he was still struggling with getting the upper hand on him.

Delirious was kicking the shit out of BEN and BEN was taking the damage pridefully, and even managed to land a few punches on Del. BEN wasn't very strong but he was more agile than Del and had more energy too. Liu was also getting his ass kicked by both Lui and David, which was an unfair fight but at that point you couldn't break up Lui and David because they did everything together such as fight other people. Craig was actually getting destroyed by Masky, considering Masky basically landed the most punches/kicks on him and was currently strangling him.

Tyler and Jack had their hands on each others necks as well and they weren't going up until Tyler decided to headbutt Jack in the face and they both staggered back holding their heads in pain and Jane laughed at them before calling out, "You're supposed to aim for the bridge of the nose, dumbass." before getting nudged in the ribs by Plague Doctor as a way of telling her to shut up.

Everyone was just going right at it and there was really nothing Brock or (Y/n) could do about the whole situation except for watch, but that's not what they did. When (Y/n) tried to pull Hoodie and Brian apart she ended up getting elbowed in the face by Hoodie and he didn't even notice, neither did Brian. But they did notice when (Y/n) growled and punched Hoodie in the face really hard and fall to the ground holding his nose was now covering the fabric in his blood, which made Brian stumble back in surprise at the female before she turned to him and kick him where the sun don't shine and he fell to his knees.

"I was trying to help you, you fucking pricks!" She screamed and Brock ended up wrapping his arms around her to calm her down and bring her away from the two boys that were now in pain before she did anymore damage. Jane was laughing at the situation while Plague Doctor kind of cringed at what just went down in front of him. (Y/n) held her eye in pain considering it was the place she'd been elbowed in and it began to bruise. Brock frowned at sighed at her before he tried to break up the groups again.

But that wasn't the best idea for him to do because someone ended up stabbing him with their knife which made him scream out in pain and fall to his knees, holding the place he was stabbed at in pain. (Y/n) leapt into action, running to him and screaming to the top of her lungs for everyone to stop. Which they did as they looked between Brock and (Y/n) who were both on the ground, (Y/n) was trying to stop the bleeding with her baseball tee that she ended up taking off so she was in a white tank top now that was starting to get blood on it.

Everyone started panicking but Evan's blood boiled as he turned to Jeff. "You started this, you fix it." He snapped and pushed Jeff to the two that were on the ground, Jeff fumbled with his hands in shock as he tried to figure out what to do in his current situation. Jeff just stood there without saying anything, he was just standing there wasting time before he scoffed and walked away from them. (Y/n) was in the process of making a makeshift bandage with her baseball tee now considering she wasn't sure what to do and there was no doctors in their group... well except for Plague Doctor but he didn't care about anyone in his group or hers.

Evan rolled his eyes at Jeff and walked over to (Y/n) and Brock. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked but was interrupted by an inhuman groan come from the trees which was clearly a geek, but when the group looked up it wasn't just a walker... it was a herd of them and they were surrounding the group rather quickly. "Get him out of here." The (h/c) girl hissed and picked up her trusty crowbar from the ground and stood up as Evan picked up Brock bridal style, standing up and walking away so he could get Brock away from the danger.

"Evan, put me down. I can fight." Brock mumbled to him and Evan shook his head in response at the boy in his arms. A walker walked out from the treeline and had gotten rather close to the two, so Evan ended up setting Brock down on the ground and Brock grunted in pain when he moved in a strange way as Evan turned his back and pulled out his hunting knife. Evan cautiously strode up to the undead man before putting his knife cleanly into the walkers head in a swift movement, and then turned around to go back to Brock but once he seen the said man wasn't where Evan had left him he went into a panic and looked around the area quickly before heading back to where the group was fighting.

By the time Evan had gotten back he couldn't find anyone he really knew in the mess of the walkers, but he fought his way through until he seen a familiar face who just happened to be (Y/n). He gulped as she turned around with the crowbar in her fists, just as she was about to swing at him she stopped and glared. "Where's Brock???" She growled and Evan sighed at her, and before he was about to open his mouth a gunshot rang out from behind him just in time to see a walker fall to the ground and realized he was about to be bitten if not for the person who had shot the walker.

Jeff was standing there right behind him and he was glaring at Evan, both hands on a shotgun. Evan turned back around to (Y/n) only to see she was gone and he just groaned before he pulled out his hunting knife and began picking through the walkers one by one with Jeff. Eventually the two could see BEN and Delirious fighting back to back, BEN with a machete and Delirious with a baseball bat. The two boys joined up with Del and BEN and began fighting the walkers around them until they could see 4 others with each other. Craig, Brian, Kagekao, and Jack were all together but still no Brock or (Y/n).

Brian and Craig were both using pistols and Kagekao was using a pocket knife while Jack used a axe. All eight of them fought together and managed to get rid of the majority of the walkers and the rest of the group could be seen, but of course still no Brock. (Y/n) was with Jane, Jane was using a revolver and (Y/n) had her crowbar. Masky and Hoodie were with Lui and David, Masky and Hoodie were using combat knives while Lui had a hatchet and David with a shotgun. Liu, Tyler and Plague Doctor were together. Liu used a knife, Tyler used a pistol, and Plague Doctor was using some surgical scissors that was used for surgery. Marcel was alone and he had a baseball bat that was covered with blood and he looked quite angry.

"Has anyone seen Brock?" Evan called out and everyone exchanged glances before shaking their heads at him. Evan growled and punched a tree out of anger. "It's all my fucking fault, if I ignored that walker Brock wouldn't of ran off to help!" Evan shouted and (Y/n) sighed as she looked at him before trying to calm him down, "He's probably fine, Evan." she said in a calm voice which made Evan breathed in and breathed out as a way to calm himself down and was about to open his mouth again but was cut off by a loud cry of pain.

Everyone's eyes went in a direction and they knew it was Brock by the tone of his voice, so they ran to the direction his cry came from before they all stumbled on an image the wouldn't of wanted to see. Brock was laying there bleeding out with a large bite on his shoulder and a dead walker laying still beside him. He was panting heavily and couldn't see the group standing in front of him for he was hunched on the ground coughing up blood, crying. "Brock!" (Y/n) yelled and threw herself beside him as he fell over, she picked him up as he breathed out painfully.

"If you see Lauren..." He trailed off as he choked on his blood, "tell her I love her and I'll see her soon." he continued. "Leave me here, I don't want you guys to see this" Brock muttered as he looked at his friends faces as they silently cried. "I'm sorry Brock..." Evan whimpered as he wiped a tear away. "Please don't be. It's my own fault, okay?" Brock pleaded, and coughed up more blood. "Now go! I don't want you to see me like this. Go." Brock snapped and pushed (Y/n) away from him who sobbed, looking at him with pained eyes.

She nodded and stood up. "Goodbye Brock." She whispered to him and went beside Evan, grabbing his arm sadly as he looked down at his old friend with tears in his eyes. "Don't you dare forget about me." Brock ordered to his friends as they all turned away before glancing back at him one last time. Once they were far enough they could hear a gunshot in the distance, and that's when (Y/n) broke out into another sob as Delirious wrapped his arm around her shoulder comfortingly, looking down sadly as he remembered all the good times he once shared with Brock while he knew his friends all did the same.

 

"Don't you dare forget about me."

\- Brock (Moo Snuckel)


	5. chapter four, "kübler-ross model"

Nobody would have thought what type of pain they were all feeling, from the loss of a close friend or a close friendship that could have been. She may not have been as close as the others may have been but his death effected her just the same. The other group who caused the uproar that day felt nothing toward the boy, they didn't even care for what had happened. Not even Jeff who didn't even need to start it in the first place when he threw that first punch, all he really did was walk away from the scene when Brock had gotten stabbed and didn't even bother to help.

The nine of what was left in Evan's group couldn't do anything but think about Brock and how he always made jokes about little things followed by a low chuckle, how he always knew what to say. But this is what they had to deal with now, this was the new world they were living in and they had to suffer through it. Loss wasn't new for them and they all knew that, but it still hurt them whenever they thought about him. Especially the one who was hurt the most about what had happened to Brock, and that was Evan.

He thought he could've saved Brock and he kept wishing that he didn't fight Jeff that day, but he couldn't of known what would've happened then. Everyone would tell him to stop blaming himself, even though they would turn around and blame their selves too for fighting and not doing better. The group was to the point where they wouldn't even talk to each other or go on runs, they would sit in different rooms of the cabin they had recently found in a state of grief and think about the different outcomes that could have happened but didn't.

Evan would leave the cabin in that case, going on walks and sometimes wouldn't return for hours but usually came back with a puffy face that he tried to hide from them but failed. Nobody knew where he went but they assumed it was best if they didn't. They all felt sorry for Evan, knowing how he blamed himself the most out of all of them especially whenever he seen his friends faces and knew that they were thinking about him too.

Now was one of those times he would be reminded of Brock as he had walked into the living room of the large cabin, looking at his friends who were either looking at the ground with grim written on their face or was staring into time and space with broken looks on their face along with the Creepypastas who were sitting perfectly fine as they conversed quietly amongst themselves. Evan sighed, looking away painfully at his hands before clearing his throat loudly which had caught everyone in the rooms attention.

"It has come to my attention that we are running low on supplies," he began as his eyes trailed off to the window, seeing that there was a slight drizzle. "and a group of us will be going on a quick supply run in maybe 20 or 30 minutes to gather what they need. Not too far from here west is a convenience store that looked like it hasn't been raided yet." he continued as the group exchanged a few dreadful glances among each other before their eyes went back to Evan. "Is anyone willing to go on this run?"

The room was silent for a few brief minutes before (Y/n) smacked her lips dryly, raising her hand up with slow movement as she replied, "I guess I will." and then Liu held his hand up silently followed by Craig, Jane, and Jack. Evan nodded at the few who raised their hands as he crossed his arms, "(Y/n) is the leader and she will be grabbing beverages such as water and energy drinks, Liu is the lookout, Craig will be carrying the most of whatever you grab, Jane has canned foods and whatever food related, and Jack will be getting medical shit like bandages and alcohol. Does everyone agree with this arrangement?" Evan asked the five.

The small group of 5 all nodded in agreement before immediately getting up from their spots and walking to their separate rooms to get ready without needing to be told, well Jane and (Y/n) actually shared a room considering they were the only females in the two groups so they went together, getting the necessary equipment that they would have needed for their run such as weapons and backpacks or duffel bags- mainly just whatever could carry a lot of items in one trip.

While they were getting ready the two mentioned females conversed. "Are you sure you want to go on this run in your state?" Jane asked the (s/c) colored girl who was slipping on a red pullover hoodie to protect herself from the rain. "Evan said we're running low on what we have so it's only necessary that I do this." (Y/n) replied quietly with a weak voice due to the fact she'd been sobbing for days to the point where her voice became strained and her eyes looked so swollen and red, it was a painful image.

Jane looked at the shorter girl with pitiful eyes as she took off her black dress to get into a black hoodie and grey boyfriend jeans, pulling the straps of a duffel bag over her shoulders. The black haired female began to grow remorseful by her actions when she realized she could have helped Brock instead of laughing on the sidelines. When she looked at (Y/n) she remembered what it was like to lose someone that was close to her and it hit her in the heart as memories played in her head.

"(Y/n), I know how you're feeling right now and blaming yourself isn't gonna bring him back, you're gonna have to accept it how it is." Jane concluded, walking over to her and putting a pale hand on said girls shoulder. (Y/n) slouched miserably as she stared at her hands in silence. "I know this is coming from a serial killer but this is going to continue happening in this new age and there's nothing you can do about it except for stop blaming yourself and soldier on. You did what you could for him and I'm pretty sure he was thankful for that. So please stop beating yourself up over this cause' it's not gonna do you any good at this rate, alright?" Jane continued, showing her pity in her voice as she pulled her hand away from (Y/n).

(Y/n) gave a weak smile at Jane and shook her head at her, grabbing her (f/c) backpack and her crowbar tightly. "I'm glad you're trying to help me and all but I seriously can't help but be in denial and grief. I keep seeing the look on his face before we left him, how much pain he was in at the time. I still hear the gunshot in my head... replaying itself over and over again. I don't know if I can just... stop grieving." She replied as a tear feel from her eye, memories of his blood on her hands flashing in her eyes.

Jane sighed and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, her black eyes trailing off to the blood stained tank stop in the corner that was now dry and you couldn't see the color in it anymore. "I can still see Mary's flesh being bitten off by a group of walkers, and her screams.... crying for me to help her and I knew it was too late. I didn't get over her for days, weeks even. This whole shit stain of an epidemic has been a problem for all of us, and it's going to continue to be a problem until all of the corpses finally decompose into the earths soil to the point where they can't even move an inch anymore." Jane whispered in complete and utter disgust, swearing at what the earth has become as (Y/n) stood still in her arms and listened silently.

"The best thing to do in this situation right now is to accept that everyone around you is going to die from this disgusting disease and we're all going to fade away into nothing eventually, you can never be too careful anymore. Fuck's sake." She continued, pulling away from (Y/n) and walking out the door gripping her duffel bag tightly while the other female stood there in silence as she watched Jane walk out. (Y/n) briefly glanced at the (f/c) backpack she was sporting and test-swinging her crowbar lightly in the air before she wiped whatever wetness was left from her eyes as she followed Jane out the door.

Craig was already by the front door of the cabin, waiting for the rest of his group while he watched the rain through the window. The only thing that changed about him was that he was now wearing a leather jacket over his grey zip-up with his hood up and he had 2 duffel bags slung on one shoulder while a green backpack was slung on the other, he had a pistol tucked visibly in the waistband of his jeans too. (Y/n) and Jane walked up beside him as they waited with him, Jane leaning against the wall as she stared into the distance with angry visible in her pitch black orbs.

"How are you holding up?" the smaller girl asked as she turned to her friend, breaking him out of his little trance from the peacefully pattern of the rain drops that were gliding down the window. Craig glanced at her with saddened eyes before replying, "I'm holding, I guess." he drawled out as he just threw an awkward and fake side smile. (Y/n) grabbed onto his hand as her own way of comforting him as she lowered her head quietly. Jane shifted awkwardly against the wall as she looked at the two before she noticed the two they were waiting for had been approaching just as (Y/n) drew her hand back from Craig's and onto the strap of her backpack.

They probably took so long because they were messing around, considering they hadn't changed into anything different like the other three had but they did have weapons and bags with them- well except Liu who just carried a machete with a shotgun sling wrapping around his shoulder considering he was deemed as the "lookout" by Evan unless Craig couldn't handle the three bags he would have been carrying. Really all they were going to do is walk west in the rain for awhile until they find a building and take out any walkers along the way, then proceeding to follow their orders and grab as much supplies that could fit in their bags which would put them in an okay place with food/water/etc. until they ran out again.

Once the five all were by the door, they all looked over what they had to see if they had missed anything and everyone seemed to have weapons and bags, mainly what they needed before Craig opened up the door with a pocket knife and held it up in case there had been a walker staggering in plain sight but there were no signs of life in the cold and gloomy rain. So, they walked out and kept hold onto their weapons in case there had been a walker just wandering about so they exterminate it almost immediately as they set out a straight path west just as Evan said.


	6. chapter five, "felo-de-se"

yo psa. speedy [ pink lemonade ] took a day off from authoring because she sucks so this is her older brother, xerxes. [ p.s if you can give me some feedback on my writing that would be so lit thanks ] okay cool ciao

\---

The sky was dark. Too dark for anyone other than the Creepypasta's comfort, so really, it's too dark for anyone normal's comfort. All the dark stormy sky really did was add to the mostly gloomy atmosphere of the cabin the two different groups shared, only further depressing anyone who had been close or even acquaintances to Brock.

The rain that had started to gently fall had done a good job setting the depressive ambience, even if it was gentle. In fact, it's gentleness might as well be what had done the trick: it was slow and quiet, but not quiet enough to not be able to be heard. It had soothed the boys' wishes to cry, but it also didn't make them feel any better.

Delirious sighed heavily as he looked out the dirtied window, watching the cool rain fall from the dark blue sky and hidden behind the tall pine trees of the forest and onto the dirt or its neighboring stone paths. He had been so used to everyone laughing and joking and having a jolly good time, so much that it had actually started to hurt him to see them so forlorn. The masked man got up from his seat, deciding he's not exactly going to let this slide. There's gotta be something to get everyone's mind off of their grieving, and maybe if he does some poking around, he can find that something. So, he got up and started his search for the distraction he knew everyone needed.

His tired legs barely carried himself throughout the hallway, which was really just shuffling once he got to notice it. He looked at all the doors in the hallway, barely visible due to the fact the sky was the only source of light as well as the already dimming candles Evan must've lit when he went through these halls earlier after [Name]'s group had left. Delirious wasn't sure which door to start with, but none of them looked open and Evan probably didn't think but to check any of them for walkers. So that would be up to him.

With another deep sigh, the masked man decided to start with the first door on the left. He pulled out his baseball bat, holding it high while slowly approaching the pine-made door. Mustering up some courage by bringing in a deep inhale, he opened the door carefully while inching in with eyes scanning the unchecked bedroom. An exhale barely calmed the adrenaline pumping through his system before he decided to search the room for anything useful. He looked under the beds, finding nothing there. Once he stood back up, he looked around the bedroom some more. In a dresser, he found nothing but young boys' clothes. Was this a camp of some sort? Probably. He closed the dresser, heading for the closet. There might be something in there. Nothing. Delirious left the bedroom, proceeding to check out the other rooms.

It wasn't until the fourth bedroom he found anything good. In that room, hidden under a bed, had been a few hidden various candy bars. With a smile, the masked man pulled them out, in process of pulling his head out only to find it knock against the board due to surprise from a voice that had just entered. With a grunt, he rubbed his head and looked up, revealing the mysterious crow-like figure he barely got to know. Delirious wasn't sure if he was a crow or a man dressed as a crow, but he did know one thing: He was pretty terrifying. If he had actually been a crow, Delirious wouldn't be surprised. The thing's whole group had consisted of freaks he had no idea were capable of existing. If he were a human being, well.. that's a kickass get-up.

"Hello." The thing greeted in English, though his accent thick of Italian. "Ahh-- ah- Hey." Delirious greeted back, standing up with the candy bars in his hand. "Are you afraid of me?" The doctor asked slowly, his tone hinting concern and his head tilting slightly. "Well, uh, you're like, a bird man, so that's a little creepy. Are you like a real bird or are some kind of man?" Delirious maintained a safe distance from the doctor, trying to keep himself safe. It wasn't really necessary.

"I am, what you would call, a man." Plague Doctor confirmed with a nod of his head, causing Delirious to relax a bit. "Are you going to hurt me or my friends?" "No. I won't harm what I am here to observe." Delirious tensed once more from that response. "O-Observe?" the shorter man stuttered in question, only more concerned. "Not to worry, mio amico. I only wish to observe the effects of this outbreak on the people of the United States." Even the way he spoke sent shivers down Delirious' spine. "Why?" It was his turn to tilt his head in confusion, his own eyebrows furrowing in question from behind his hockey mask. "Because. This is the second most interesting outbreak in the world, and I would like to see it in play." "But.. the first, was...?" Delirious asked stupidly, as if he'd forgotten there was a reason behind the name Plague Doctor and that strange mask of his. "The Black Plague." The feather clad doctor informed with a bored voice.

Now that surprised Delirious. "Were... were you alive? T-To see the Black Plague?" Delirious asked, his eyes widened from behind his mask. "Yes." The doctor confirmed with a single nod, watching as the shorter man brought a hand up to rest on his head. "Whoa... so you're like... old..." Delirious' ran his hand down, his arm falling down slowly as a result. "Seven hundred years old. Exact." The doctor answered. "When were you born, dude!? H-H-H-How are you still alive!?!" Delirious asked with an excited smile. It's not everyday you meet a man seven hundred years old. "January 10th. 1317. I was cursed with immortality when I was thirty two years old." "That's awesome, man!" Delirious felt like he liked this guy, even if he was creepy, ancient and quiet.

"Well, uhh... you're... you're really cool... I just-- I wanted you to know that..." Delirious watched as the doctor brought his hands up and formed a heart. Delirious couldn't hold back a wider smile. "Well! I'm gonna keep looking for, uh, things." Delirious walked past the taller man, heading back into the hall. "I came to see if you required my help." Plague Doctor turned and followed Delirious, which almost made Delirious giggle. He was like a puppy who'd imprinted on him. "I'm good, but thanks anyway. You can go relax, I totally got this." Delirious commanded, not exactly in the mood for a companion. With a nod, the doctor turned to return to his friends. "Very well. But if you shall require my help, call and I will come." He began to walk away. Delirious made note to that. Heading off to the final door, he got ready to defend himself from anything behind that door.

But when he opened the door, he didn't have to defend himself. He just dropped his baseball bat due to the sight he opened the door to. "What... the fuck..." Delirious whispered to himself, eyes widened and his smile he had finally managed to gain faltered at the sight before his eyes. There were two of them. Two living dead children. He could feel himself want to vomit. The sight of very frail and rotting little boys worsened his mood, and watching them attempt to break away from each other and crawl towards him for a meal they had so obviously needed in life. "Jesus Christ..." He felt vomit try to come up his throat when he realized what they had gone through and what he would have to do next. He just had to swallow it down and take care of this so he wouldn't have to again.

Delirious brought his baseball bat back up to his hand from the floor, slow steps moving closer to the unfortunate children that had starved to death. "H-Hey, kids... I-I-I, I'm so sorry it ended like this.." His voice shook as he stepped towards the dead boy scouts, disgusted with himself because of the fact he's about to kill two little boys. Even if they had already been dead. "I'm so sorry..." Delirious mumbled as his saddened eyes glanced down at the two boys, watching their pathetic and weak hands attempt to swipe at his legs. He raised the bat up high, preparing to smack them down on the head. He turned his head away, unable to watch himself kill two kids. "This is so fucked..." He swung the bat down, the sound of the collision inevitable. 

\--

The trip to the general goods store had been deadly quiet aside from the stray tree branches that had fallen onto the stone path as result of an unkept campground that had been stepped on every now and then as well as the calm breeze rustling through the pine trees and gentle rain which invited itself to soaked through hoodies and t-shirts. [Name] gently sighed, earning a glance from Jack. She looked down at the stone path, watching her feet carry her in front of her group.

"It's too quiet," [Name] spoke up, hoping she could spark something up. "It's unsettling." She looked back at the group. Jane looked away, her eyebrows furrowing. She better knew and recognized emotions unlike her comrades had as well as took feelings into consideration. She knew what [Name] and Craig had felt and sympathized, but she also knew what Jack and Liu felt right now. She knew neither of them really cared, and she knew it made her feel sad that they didn't. "Yeah..." Jane agreed quietly, looking up at [Name] who must've to have looked up when she never got anything back from her team.

"I wonder why." Craig commented, bitterness clear in his voice. [Name] looked down once again. Him snapping at her like that had made her realize how stupid she sounded trying to bring up something amidst this time. Jane shot daggers at Craig who had angered features on his face which had softened once he got the message from Jane, and realized his mistake which caused him to look away. Satisfied with Craig's realization, Jane pushed past Jack and Liu who had whispered something to each other, making past the taller boys to reach [Name].

After the older woman wrapped an arm around her shoulder, she softly spoke to the young woman. "Hey, forget him. I'll talk to you." Jane offered with a weak smile, causing the [hair color]'d girl to look up at her with an even weaker smile than Jane had. "Thanks, Jane, but... he's right. I-- I shouldn't've expected any form of conversation right now." Jane frowned, bringing the girl into a side hug. "At least, not with them. We can talk, hmm?" Jane proposed, a renewed smile on her face. [Name] had to smile a little wider at Jane before replying. "Yeah.. actually. Yeah."

"Well, do you really think this convenience store is untouched?" Jane asked, looking ahead and loosening up on her arm hold to the younger woman. [Name] only brought a free hand up to her chin with a small tapping, indicating thought. "Considering Evan goes on walks all by himself, to.. well, wherever, maybe. Maybe when he found this place, he looked around and didn't have enough pockets." [Name] looked at Jane, earning a nod from her. "And just took time to tell us." Jane shrugged. [Name] very lowly chuckled, smiling a bit wider. "Yeah... you'd think with or without adequate amounts of supplies, he'd still send a team to go snatch it all up before someone else does." The [Hair color] girl said, her [eye color] eyes catching sights of the store. "Oh shit, there it is!" Liu said with a point, a small smile forming on his cheeks. The small team started to jog up, killing the two walkers that decided to show their decomposing faces.

[Name] smiled as they reached the building, grateful she would be able to get out of this rain for a few minutes. She went up the door, giving it a pull for a check. Only to discover it was locked. Great. She rolled her eyes, slouching in disappointment. "Fuck." She cursed, turning to the group whose faces had fell. "Liu, check the back. Maybe Evan left us a broken window or something." [Name] ordered, watching the tall man comply and walk around the building.

It had taken a minute for Liu to return, but once he did, he smiled a little bit. "The back door's alarm was disabled and unlocked." Liu informed, causing everyone's faces to regrow happily. [Name] grinned, ditching the group to run the back and head in. A few seconds after, they met [Name] in the back room, surrounded by unopened boxes and also opened boxes full of products that were supposed to go on shelves. "Holy shit..." Jack mumbled, "I've never actually been in the back room of a store." [Name] giggled. "Same here." She agreed. "No time to stare though. Let's get moving."

Everyone scattered throughout the store, forgetting to scout around for walkers. Liu did his job, crawling up on the roof to help himself out. [Name] and Jane went into the shelved part of the store, [Name] heading over to the refrigerators that hadn't been powered and grabbed all the stocked water, moving onto the soft drinks. She smiled as she loaded her bags with drinks, grateful they'd have quite a bit to drink for awhile.

Jane had glanced out the windows, seeing a few walkers which hadn't really noticed they were in there as well as a sexy pickup truck. Jane grinned, looking over at the [hair color] girl. "[Name!]" She called out, though still shoving boxed snacks and foods into her bags. "There's a truck outside. Maybe it's still gassed, maybe it still works!" Jane grinned. "We can check it out after we're done." She smiled at Jane, causing Jane to move faster. Jack had already finished up grabbing what he could; there wasn't much to grab for medical supplies. "I'm done." Jack simply said, standing in the doorway with crossed arms. "So am I." [Name] said, closing her bags full of many drinks.

"Jane?" [Name] asked, looking at the black haired girl. "Juuust..." She threw in the last few foods she can carry. For now, anyway. "Alright. Let's head out and check that truck of yours, Jane." [Name] grinned and joked, opening the door from the inside so alarms wouldn't trip. It went as planned, and the small group stepped outside, enjoying the fresh cool air. Jane rushed over to the doors, peeking inside. She pulled herself back, a grunt escaping her black lipstick lips. "What? What's in there, Janey?" Jack teased, a gift from her middle finger to Jack. "There's a guy in there." "A guy? Alive or dead?" [Name] asked, preparing her weapon. "Alive." Jane looked at her calmly.

"Shit." [Name] cursed once more. "He's sleeping." She whispered, hoping she wouldn't wake the young man up. "Shit... okay... okay..." [Name] whimpered, heading over to the window and peeking in. Raising a hand and curling it, she hesitated. Should she really knock on the window? She looked at Jane, whose hands were strongly set on her weapon and watched her look at her with anticipation though nodding. Cautiously, [Name] knocked on the window. She looked at the boy, who layed uncomfortably in the seat.

The boy had short black hair, which had been styled using product to give it a windswept look. He wore a checkered zip up hoodie under a black leather jacket, both of which had been unzipped to reveal a red Flash t-shirt, also wearing black jeans and finished with red converse which had been partially covered past his heel because of his boot cut jeans, and finally a pair of aviators that had started to fall off his face. He was pretty good looking, but very young.

[Name] had to knock on the window once again, watching as this time the boy jerked awake and looked around with alarm. His aviators hang off one ear, the rest of it trying to fall off. The stranger looked at the girl with tired eyes, unsure of what to think at the moment. His mind had barely functioned, and he had to hold his head in his hands for a brief moment before processing that there had been a girl behind those doors. He jumped, looking at the [hair color] girl and cautiously rolling down the window, but only enough to where they both could be heard. He wouldn't take any chances.

The girl put her hands on her hips with a convincing smile, hoping she could get this guy to allow her and her group to use his truck. If luck felt generous today and let him be a cool guy, so they didn't have to walk back and they then have a truck. He spoke up, his voice very warm and smooth though a little too mature for the age he looked. "Yo." He simply greeted, straight yet exhausted features on his face. [Name] had tilted her head slightly, her voice noticeably laced with distrust when she asked him, "Are you hostile?"

The boy furrowed his eyebrows, rubbing his head and fixing his aviators. "Well, no, not really." he responded, looking at her though those shades and leaning on the steering wheel for support. "Are you?" He asked in return, earning a head shake from the [hair color] girl. "Good..." He mumbled, nodding. "Got any energy drinks?" He asked, opening the door up. [Name] went into her bag, watching Jane look at her with a look that cried 'I hope you know what you're doing.'

"Yeah..." [Name] said before handing the can of poison to the boy, watching as he graciously accepted it. "Cool. Thanks." He cracked it open, downing quite a bit of it. Jane looked at mystery boy, her eyes squinting at him as she crossed her arms. "What's your name?" She asked, causing the boy to glance at her. He never noticed her before, so when he spotted her, he jumped a bit. "Whoa- How's it goin' there?" He asked calmly. She shrugged, keeping her arms crossed. He seemed very laid back and easygoing, not to mention fearless. "Oh. Fine." She responded, confident she'd get an answer to her question.

And, that he did. Once [Name] looked at him in a way that wanted an answer as well. "Axton. Axton Samuels." He held his can, taking another quick sip before looking at the girls and a silent Jack. "And you guys are?" Axton asked, his emerald eyes looking at the three of them. Jack took it upon himself to introduce himself just as [Name] went to open her mouth. "I'm Jack. This is Jane, and uhh... [Name]." Jack used his thumb to point at the two of them and himself in means of introduction, and he gave a shit eating grin to the kid. [Name] gave a brief glare at Jack for almost forgetting her name.

Axton nodded. "Well, it's nice to meet you three." He smiled, putting his hands in his pockets. "Y'all have more people or is it just you three?" He asked curiously. "Not that we really know of." Axton looked down, sighing disappointingly. "Well, fuck." He looked back up at them. Jane figured it was time to ask about this truck she'd been eying. "Do you mind if we borrow your truck?" she asked politely, smiling a little bit in attempts to convince him. He shrugged. "Not at--"

Suddenly, there was a scream. It was a scream of surprise, and it sounded a lot like Craig's, and it caused the four near the truck to sprint to inside. "Craig!" [Name] called out, bursting through the doors. "Help!" he called back, the sound coming from the back room, as well as the inhuman groaning which had most likely been the cause of his distressed screaming. The four ran in, watching as Liu and Craig both struggled against zombies filing in, greedily fighting against each other to eat one of the two men for themselves. They were everywhere and [Name] knew then they couldn't return to the store any time soon and that it would be near impossible to kill all these zombies. "Axton! Go start your truck and get it ready to get the hell out of here!" [Name] commanded, in which Axton complied with and took off on his way to start the truck and prepare. Jane started killing zombies and throwing them off of Liu while Jack took care of some zombies and [Name] helped out Craig.

The audible rumble of the truck's engine started was music to Jane and [Name]'s ears, both girls pulling the boys away from walkers attempting to make meal time out of them. "C'mon, guys! To the truck!" [Name] yelled, sprinting out along with the rest of her group and grabbing the bags they'd dropped earlier before throwing them in the truck's bed and filed into the seat next to Axton, followed by Jane while Craig and Liu jumped into the bed and hung on to the side. Axton didn't waste any time reversing throughout the parking lot before putting it into drive and stepping on the gas.

[Name] panted heavily, glancing back at Craig, Liu and the bags full of supplies they'd raided from the store. Axton glanced at her briefly with worry while flying down the road at a safe 50 mph. "Is everyone okay?" He asked, [Name]'s head turning to face the young man who had turned his head back to the road. "Yeah... Yeah. I think so." She replied, holding her head and shaking ever so slightly. "Okay... good." He nodded. "Hey, kid. Thanks, for having our backs." Jane thanked Axton, earning a nod from him. "Yeah, no problem..." It was then Jane and [Name] both knew he could be trusted.

\--

The simple thought of slaughtering things that once were kids put Delirious at unease. Every time he looked at the small bodies and rotting innocent faces and watching their boney hands grasp at him while moaning quietly just made him sick to his stomach. He wasn't exactly right in his mind, but he wasn't exactly insane either, and that normal side of him knew it was just awful and wrong to kill a child but he also knew these weren't exactly children anymore either. Though, he figured, in his own conclusion, he couldn't bring himself to take care of it. He had get Plague Doctor. "Plague Doctor! Come here please!!" He called out.

It didn't take longer than 30 seconds for the Italian doctor to arrive to the occupied bedroom. "I-I c-can't do this... I-I can't-- Kill them..." Delirious looked at the kids, holding his shaking back as best as he possibly can. "You want me to." Plague Doctor voiced his new friend's thoughts upon realizing it. "Y-Yeah..." Plague Doctor nodded softly, heading over to the walker children laying weakly on the floor with his unfazed stride. "I'm-- I'm gonna look around," Delirious looked at the immortal, looking into the barely visible whites of his eyes hidden from his mask, makeup and hood. The immortal only nodded.

The second Delirious turned around was the second the doctor took the first hit with his tools on one of the zombified children laying on the floor, causing the masked psycho to wince at the sound of it's last groan leaving it's rotting vocal cords. He was just glad he didn't have to watch it happened and Plague Doctor was one of the only two cool creepyfreaks that he was friends with that would do something like this for him. Delirious took a few steps away, looking under beds and the dressers to find nothing, but the weak light coming through the windows gleamed on something in the closet. He hoped it wasn't something stupid.

But it hadn't been. Upon opening the closet door, he met a closet full of boys' uniforms and an acoustic guitar propped up against the narrow spaces wall. With a growing smile, Delirious reached in and grabbed the neck of the guitar and pulled it up to examine it. It was perfectly intact; no strings popped, no missing tuners, no conflict. His smile widened as he dusted the body off with his sleeve, not having noticed the dark doctor behind him finish off the second child. The only thing he had on his mind right now was guitar and Evan, so he turned around and looked at Plague Doctor with excitement.

"Guitar! Evan plays guitar!" Delirious announced the his immortal friend, Plague Doctor only quietly looking at Delirious and the guitar he didn't care about, as if he didn't really care. "I'm gonna go give this to him!" He grinned from behind his mask, heading off into the hallway excitedly as if he were a child who'd just made a mud pie for his mommy. Plague Doctor just watched his younger friend leave the room ecstatically, his own lips forming a small smile.

Delirious knew Evan was in the room at the very end of the hall, the door closed shut with light barely seeping through the cracks of the door. Delirious knew Evan wouldn't mind if he headed on in without knocking, so when the man got up to the door, he slowly opened it and called out to the young man."Vanoss! I found something for you!" You could almost hear the grin in his voice. But that grin dropped when he found his friend sitting at the edge of a bed and holding a gun to his head with quiet tears streaming down his already tear stained cheeks.

Evan's heart raced when he seen his hockey masked friend, hesitance to pull the trigger only growing stronger and his arm falling slowly at the sight. But his determination to end his life so he didn't have to deal with this belief of being a terrible leader as well as the guilt and loss of Brock eating him alive all brought his arm back up with renewed strength. Evan couldn't miss the sight of an acoustic guitar being held in Delirious' hands, his tears only sliding down his cheeks faster and harder. Delirious just about shit his pants looking at the gun ready to fire and harshly buried into black hair, panic murdering his excitement and taking over instead.

"Evan! What are you doing, put that down!" Distress ached through Delirious' voice, as well as the dropping of the guitar and rushing over to get the firearm out of his hands. But the second Evan's brain processed Delirious' legs move was the second he himself shot up and faced the man with the gun still in his hand and still firmly and menacingly held to his head. It only halted him in his steps, looking at the young man with panic and worry and fear in his eyes. "Stop, Delirious! Don't move any further." Evan warned, voice strained no thanks to all his crying. Delirious only shook his head in response.

"Evan, please listen to me. Just listen to me, please..." Delirious begged, his voice scared and shaky. Evan stayed quiet, his eyes wandering off to meet the floor and trembled a bit. Maybe he shouldn't listen-- maybe... Maybe he should just pull the trigger now and save himself from the lies and bullshit Delirious is going to likely feed him. It was Evan's turn to shake his head, his strained voice raising. "No! I c-can't, okay? I-I can't..." He looked at the masked man. Said masked man took it slow, deciding to get Evan to talk. If he could talk, he won't think about the trigger his finger had already eased up from. "Why not? What's wrong, Evan?"

Evan wiped away his tears and leaking snot from his face. "I-I j-just-- I can't live knowing my leading skills k-killed Brock! I c-can't live knowing t-that I killed him! I can't live knowing I'm going to kill everyone else!" Evan trembled, his arm tiredly relaxing from its strong hold to his head. Had Evan seriously truly believed that he killed Brock? Had he forgotten [Name] was there too, also blaming herself for his death? Delirious shook his head at him once more. "You did not kill Brock, okay! Nobody killed Brock! Nobody did, aside from himself! He killed himself, Evan!" Delirious threw his hands in the air, unashamed by his raising voice. Evan had no right to blame himself.

Evan's eyes widened slightly, remembering the whole scene in his head once more. It hurt to remember it in such vivid detail. But Evan stayed quiet as Delirious continued to snap at him. "And you are no bad leader! You never were and never will be bad at leading! Your leading is so good, Evan. In fact, it's so good that it surpasses Jeff's shitty leading by light years. Evan, you're the leader because all of us as a group know you can lead us and lead us good. If we really thought you were a terrible leader, we would've kicked you from the role and had someone else be leader. I promise you, okay! You can go out there and ask any one of your group members if you're a terrible leader and you will get told the exact same thing I just told you now, if not 'shut the fuck up.' You're a good leader Evan. None of what happened to Brock was your fault. None of it, okay!? And it never will be. So fucking stop thinking it is."

Evan's tired arm finally dropped as he had been defeated in the argument, though the pistol had seemed glued to his hand as he hadn't dropped it. He invited himself into Delirious' arms, who hadn't actually minded. In fact, he hugged back as Evan sobbed into his shoulder, bringing his best friend in close for a comforting embrace. Delirious listened to the young man, listening to the words coming from between sobs. "T-Thank-- you----- D-D-Delirious..." He sobbed, thanking the man who was holding him for the comfort and being there for him and stopping him from doing something over the top.

Delirious only soothingly rubbed Evan's back as he sobbed, trying his best to comfort him. Which after a couple minutes seemed to calm him down, because his sobs had ceased and he can "I-I'm-- so fucking sorry, Delirious... I-I... I s-shouldn't've..." Evan mumbled, pulling back and wiping his face off once more. He'd finally calmed down, and at one point had dropped the pistol he'd threatened to kill himself with earlier. Delirious put both of his hands on Evan's shoulders, having him look into his eyes. He didn't care about that right now, but Evan had to know something important.

"Evan. I told you you're a good leader, and don't get me that's still true and always will be. But good leaders also make some bad decisions sometimes. Good leaders make mistakes sometimes, and it's okay if it happens sometimes. But never beat yourself up over them. I won't have it." Delirious looked him dead in the eye. Slowly and quietly, Evan nodded his head, looking up at the older man. He was so thankful to have a best friend like him. "Thanks... again, Del. I just... c-can we not mention this to anyone?" Evan asked, causing Delirious to go back over to the acoustic guitar he found just for him. "As long as you play something for us."

'Owl Boy' chuckled weakly, grabbing the guitar from Delirious' hands with a weak smile. "Okay... sure..." Evan nodded, strumming the strings to test it out. He flinched upon hearing the awful sound coming from the guitar. Delirious tilted his head. "What?" "It's out of tune. But I got it don't worry." And he did. He sat down on the edge of the bed, using the tuners to fix the terrible mess. And it didn't take long for him to get it into tune. He smiled more stronger, feeling a lot better from sobbing his eyes out and being comforted by Delirious.

But just as they were about to leave the bedroom, their ears caught the low rumble of an engine approaching the cabin. It caused the two men to dash over to the window, eyes caught on a slow moving pickup truck with a young man in the drivers seat and next to him was [Name] and Jane. The back of the truck carried Craig, Jack and Liu. Delirious and Evan had to glance at each other, both of which having the same question on their mind, and even speaking in unison:

"Who the fuck is that?"


	7. chapter six, "ex imperium"

"hey there demons. its me, ya boy" - xerxes quoting shane

-

Footsteps stormed through the dark and empty hall at a quick pace, carrying tension along with them as if there already wasn't enough tension which had been dangerously mixed with the sadness of the mourning and the creepypasta's carefree attitudes. The footsteps had grown closer to the living room where most of the two groups had tried to hang out as not everyone had been given their own bedrooms, so the living room had been the only option they had.

The footsteps revealed themselves as none other than Delirious and Vanoss, both boys with concern written all over their faces. Evan's hand had been tightly clutched onto a pistol, Delirious matching but instead with his baseball bat. Watching the two head over to the doors of the giant cabin and hastily leave had seemed to have caught the group of former gamers' attention joined by curiosity and confusion. Only, Nogla actually had an idea on what had got them so quickly out the door. It really only meant one thing.

"(Y/n)'s group is back," David thought out loud, his gaze turning from their leader and clown friend to the gloomy friends who had their attentions already turned to him. They seemed to relax from their curiosity and confusion, but they didn't realize it would only be replaced by their own worry and renewed curiosity as they hadn't exactly let David finish. "But they brought someone with."

And there it was. The replaced looks on their faces as they heard those five words come from David's lips. The anxiety and curiosity they hadn't realized a second ago that would seize their hearts. None of them looked relax anymore. And David almost felt like an asshole for ruining it, but there wasn't much he could do now. He couldn't really reassure them it was fine, because what if it wasn't? He'd just lie to them. He just had to go see for himself. So that's when he stood up to go look for himself. "I'm gonna go check it out, so I'll be back."

But Lui wasn't comfortable in just letting his best friend go out there alone. Well, technically he wasn't, going out there alone, but Lui felt it would be without him tagging along. He stood up just after David had, walking over to him with anxiety plaguing his mind. "I'm coming with." He told him firmly, standing by his side as if he were telling him he wasn't going to take no for an answer. David noticed this, and frankly, he didn't want to argue with the older of the two. So he let him come along; what harm would be done even if he did? None. None at all.

The three from the inside of the truck had managed to climb out just as Lui and David left the cabin, making their way to the truck while the rest of the group stayed inside and watched with caution through the small windows of the camp cabin. Evan and Delirious stood beside the truck bed, helping Craig, Liu and Jack haul the shit from the back. Shouldn't Evan be talking to the stranger?

"Hey," David greeted the five men with a straight face. Sure, he was happy to see his friends alive, but still upset enough about Brock to not be able to smile. (Y/n) glanced at the tall and short duo who'd just arrived to the scene and seen him greet his friends which brought a warm smile upon her face. She and Jane both traveled around the truck to meet Axton who'd been on the driver's side, which caused him to smile happily at the two girls.

Feet met with the Earth's dirt as Craig jumped down from the side of the truck, his tired eyes looking up at David and his arms feeling the need to adjust the heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "What's up, man?" His voice broke through the temporary silence before his gray-blue eyes turned to the other two in the bed, one of which held a travel bag filled to the brim with various foods and beverages, and the other had a tote bag presumably filled with over-the-counter medications.

David's hand reached for the strap of one of the other two duffel bags and slid it close to him once he felt his fingers loop around the embroidery, proceeding to swing the bag over his shoulder in a careless manner. His glasses glinted in the little light that seeped through the thin clouds spread across the still dark gray sky as a result of the rain, though he didn't seem to care because he stood still with his head peering down at the gravel as if he were thinking. Craig's eyebrows furrowed impatiently at David's silence, but he knew anyway that David was thinking about the past few days... and probably what had happened to Brock in those past few days. Craig's eyebrows softened because of it.

He really only sighed as he looked at David, whose green eyes were so fixated and strained as he stared at the ground. The latter wasn't expecting Craig's arms to wrap around him in an attempt to calm him down, even less expecting it to work as he felt his own eyes soften and he noticed he felt less tense. Craig knew David wasn't a hug type of guy-- and actually hated them-- but he felt the need hug him and show support after understanding what he was going through and he wanting to show David that it was alright. He had him, and everyone else too.

What Craig didn't expect in that moment, was for David to hug him back tightly. He could feel the taller male's chin on top of his head and the tears that fell from his green pools in grief onto the visible flesh of his neck. Craig could feel his own eyes getting wet, tears threatening to spill from them. Though, Craig pulled himself together as his arms squeezed the other male comfortingly.

Axton fiddled with the truck keys in his hands as he stood in front of Jane and (Y/n), staring down at the red converse covering his feet with the same smile he's had on since the girls came around to speak to him. The twenty four year old's lips twitched which indicated his smile was only going to grow wider--actually, it had, but only once his head rose. Which happened just now as he held out truck keys out to both girls, his silvery voice speaking up to explain the sudden gesture.

"Look, I uh... well, I suppose this is a strange gesture, but... um, here. Jane, (Y/n), I want you both to take the truck." Jane's eyes widened a little bit, her hands reaching out to grab the keys. But she hesitated. "Why?" She asked, her gaze meeting Axton's emerald green eyes. "I just... you guys need a vehicle--" "But you need one too, Axton." (Y/n) interrupted, her stance shifting as she crossed her arms. She wasn't going to allow her new friend to give up his truck for them. It wasn't right. "I'll get one," He reassured as Jane took the keys from his hand and examined the charms with them. "I'm, what my best friend would call, a grease monkey. I like fixing cars up, and it just so happens to be I'm more of a car driver than truck."

Jane grinned at the kid, putting the keys and throwing her arms around him. "You're one sweet kid, Axton. Thank you." (Y/n) herself grinned as she watched the tall kid become enveloped by the shorter woman in a hug and watched his face grow a small shade of pink, next listening to his bashful stuttering. "O-Oh... well, um, t-thanks, Jane--" (Y/n) could tell that if he had free arms, at least one of them would be helping his hand rub the back of his neck. "Thank you, Axton. You've done all of us a great deal, and... well, I really hope you can join our group. We could really use someone as kick-ass as you are." She spoke after Jane had let go of Axton and smiled at him, then watching his face grow from pink to red with his hand traveling up to the back of his neck. He was a cute kid.

Lui, who had been watching his friends carry things down before watching Craig hug David which had ultimately ended up turning his attention to (Y/n), Jane, and the new face he'd now had confirmation existed and was there. Which had given him sudden curiosity about the young man who spoke with the two girls, which caused his feet to carry him over to the three, looking at the girls who were smaller compared to the giant of a young man. Why was he so tall?

Lui smiled gently at the girls, putting his hands in his hoodie's pockets placidly before he looked up at the rather handsome young man, his lazy smile still present. Axton smiled back anyway, his masculine hand removing itself from the back of his neck and meeting his other arm in a lazy arm cross. Lui only looked back at the girls, deciding to see how the three were doing. "Hey, guys, how's it going?" He asked, looking at (Y/n) who had smiled back at him earlier with a straight faced Jane standing next to her. (Y/n) shrugged, trying to stop her still shaking hands by putting them on her hips. "We're alright," the (h/c) girl looked at Jane who had given her a confirmed nod as her response. "I'm good. How are you?" Axton asked in return to Lui, causing Lui to glance over at him.

The short male tilted his head slightly. "Fine-- What's your name?" He asked, watching as the boy shifted his backpack which had been hanging on his shoulder from only one strap. Axton tapped his arm in boredom before answering Lui, "Axton... uh, Samuels. Axton Samuels." Lui nodded, his eyes catching some of the guys bringing things in. He decided to help them, finding his body turning to go do so. Axton would understand, and he did-- but first, he just wanted to know Lui's name. "Wait, what's your name?"

Lui only glanced back with a new smile- it looked a little mischievous, a little cocky- and spoke to the latter, "You'll catch my name later, stranger," with a small wink. It made Axton blush again, even if it was very light. He looked off, playing with his checkered hoodie's hem with a breathy chuckle. (Y/n) glanced at Lui who had caught up to the boys, then at the flustered Axton. She walked up closer to him, waving her hand in front of his face in attempt to regain his attention. Which worked. "Oh- Yeah?" He asked, his head shaking to bring himself back into the game and looking down at the girl. Her smile grew even wider at how cute he could be from time to time.

She clasped her hands together as Jane took the few steps to stand next to her, her hands resting on her hips while she looked up at him and his curious raised eyebrow. (Y/n) took a brief glance over to the other young man who was leading the others into the cabin before returning her eyes up to him and asking him: "Do you wanna maybe stick around with us? Maybe help us out, and we can help you out?" She watched as Axton grew a grin. "Of course I would! It's been way too lonely out there by myself, and boring. I would love to help you guys out." Jane's hands slipped from their spot on her lips with a small smile growing on her black lips. "Then it would probably be a good idea to talk it over with our leader, Evan."

Axton agreed with a nod, "We should go find him then," he suggested, which earned agreeing hums from both girls. "I'm gonna go inside. Let Evan know that we're gonna bring you in to meet him." Jane pointed her thumb towards the cabin only feet away that presumably held the leader in, her body turning itself and legs carrying her into the building. Axton could see the glint of light shimmering, faintly seeing the truck keys in her pale skin hands. (Y/n) watched Jane head inside and giving it a few moments so she could find Evan before she lightly grabbed his wrist which was thick with layered hoodie and leather.

"Alright, well," (Y/n) began, starting to drag the taller boy by his wrist towards the enormous master cabin. "Let's head on in." She suggested, hand tightening around the boy's wrist. He didn't seem to mind, just allowing himself to be dragged by the girl with (h/l) (h/c) hair and using his free hand to take his aviators off and let them rest up on his head and fluffy black hair. (Y/n) mentally thanked Axton for parking so close to the cabin and its door so she didn't have to drag said boy very far, her eyes locking on the camp cabin's front doors. She dragged them both up the stairs and porch, letting go of her new friend who had brought himself up to the front door. He smiled as his masculine fingers found themselves on the door handle, turning it as needed and opening the door, looking down at the girl with his free hand, gesturing for her to walk inside. He didn't even have to say 'Ladies first' to know what the polite gesture meant. Probably because his stupid smile said it all.

Nonetheless, (Y/n) stepped through with a thanking smile on her lips which didn't actually last long due to the blast of sadness that just hit her the second she walked in. 'Oh, that's right,' she thought, her lips faltering into a frown upon remembering not everyone had been distracted from Brock's death like she had. God, how could she forget about Brock like that? She could feel her (e/c) eyes start to water up, but she blinked them away for the sake of Axton. She didn't want him to worry and she didn't want Evan to think Axton had done anything to her.

Speaking of Axton, the boy put a hand on her shoulder. When (Y/n) turned around, she was met with sympathetic features and a weak smile. It was reassuring, and reminded her that she has friends there for her. (Y/n) smiled back at him, putting one of her hands on his briefly before taking it off and scanning the room for Jane and Evan. When her eyes caught them, the two groups were standing up and watching and examining what Evan had been digging through the bags with Delirious. Jane had been standing and talking to Evan who then glanced back at (Y/n) and Axton before looking up at Jane and nodding. (Y/n) watched as Jane's hand waved them over, telling her it's okay to come forward.

(Y/n) and Axton started walking, (Y/n)'s eyes catching Evan who had stood up with lightly crossed arms and waiting. Next to him had been Delirious, who had been taking a sip of Full Throttle, an energy drink that Axton drank earlier. It was only a matter of seconds until the three found themselves standing in front of Evan and Delirious, Evan looking at the tall boy in the middle. Axton wasn't really nervous, no, he wasn't the type to, but he was anxious. Evan smiled a little bit, looking up at the taller boy. "Axton, right?" He asked, his thick eyebrow raising ever so slightly.

Axton nodded, his hands pushing his jacket aside to put his hands in his hoodie's pocket, "Yep," He confirmed with. Evan brought a hand up to rub his chin a little bit in thought. "So, whats your story?" He asked curiously, eyebrow raising as high as it could go. Axton shrugged, "I was on my way to the airport to visit my best friend, Mordecai, in Illinois," Axton started, looking down at the floor with a bit of sadness leaking through his voice. "But on the way there, there was nothing but traffic jams. Traffic jams and people getting out of their cars running away... I couldn't understand why until zombies limped their way towards me. I managed to get out of traffic, only scraping my kick ass Mustang in the process. I drove back home, packed whatever shit I thought I needed to survive an apocalypse."

Everybody seemed to have been listening, all of them interested in their own way. Axton shifted in his standing spot, looking completely down and causing his aviators to fall from their place on his head and onto his nose loosely. He didn't seem to care, only continuing his story. "When I got back to my Mustang, I sat in there for a few seconds, calling up Mordo. When he picked up, I told him to stay alive so we could survive together when I got there. He agreed, then we said our platonic 'I love yous' and hung up. So I left my house, heading for Illinois. On a gas stop, I broke into the vacant gas station, grabbed shit for my car and myself. As I was in, my fucking Mustang was stolen." His fists clenched underneath his hoodie's cotton pockets. "So... I just... went by foot, walking all the way back to the city. It took weeks, but... I managed. I went back home, finding it pretty fuckin' raided."

Evan frowned. It sounded like this young man didn't really have a fun survival, unlike his and the groups. He watched as (Y/n) put a hand on the tall boy's shoulder, smiling softly at him. He only glanced at her, his fists relaxing. "I left home, trying to find my car so I could go to Mordecai's, thinking, and I kinda just... got so tired on my travels, found a truck at a gas station, killed the zombie chilling in there, checked out the engine and fluids, crawled in and locked it before passing out. That's when Jane and (Y/n) found me." He shrugged a bit, looking up enough to see the shorter boy. "Sounds pretty rough..." Delirious commented, looking at the boy in sympathy. "It was. And I miss Mordecai, and my car." (Y/n)'s heart ached for the kid, her hand traveling from his shoulder to rub his arm. Evan put a hand of his own on Axton's shoulder, a smile forming on his lips.

"I think you're a good guy, Axton. You can stay with us." Axton smiled back at him, causing (Y/n)'s mood to lift a little bit. She watched as Evan and Axton shook hands, followed by a hard back slap from Delirious with a moderately loud "Welcome to the crew!" to erupt from his lips. (Y/n) glanced back at Jane, her smile graduating into a grin along with Jane. (Y/n) squealed a little bit, jumping ecstatically looking from Evan and Delirious and up to Axton who chuckled at her excitement and Delirious' welcome. "We need to introduce you to the groups!" She grabbed him by the arm, dragging him once again to the cautious groups.

A few smiled at him, a few had their eyebrows raised, and some looked uninterested. (Y/n) and Jane brought him to the group of masks if not makeup, all dressed in a creepy manner, much like Jane. Axton didn't really seem fazed though, much to Jeff's dislike. He glared daggers at the taller male, arms crossing tightly. BEN stood next to him, both boys in front of the group of creepy people. BEN only looked up at him in wonder, trying to figure out why he hadn't bolted the other way the second he seen them and what could send the other way. Before Jane pointed everyone out, her eyes locked on Jeff, making her suspicious and uncomfortable as he stared at Axton like that.

When (Y/n) noticed this, she nudged the black haired girl, which had caught her attention. (Y/n) felt Axton's confused gaze on her, but she didn't do anything other than reminding Jane of the introduction. "Jane, you were gonna introduce everybody to Axton?" She reminded, causing Jane to nod. "Oh, yes, right..." She nodded, making her way over to Jeff and BEN. She reluctantly put a hand on Jeff's shoulder, leaning on him a bit. "This is Jeff. He's quite the piece of shit, and you don't even have to get to know him to learn that about him. He could breathe and you'd know--" Jeff growled and was about to slam his elbow into her stomach, but she stopped it with her free hand and continued, "Never listen to him. All he does is spew shit from his lips, tries to be alpha male even though he's actually lower than an omega, thinks he's a psycho even though he's not..."

Jeff looked like he was about to turn around stab the shit out of her when she finished off with "Jack the Ripper was, so try again sweetie," she patted his head, immediately wiping her hand on her sleeve, and walked around to BEN. Axton had to hold back laugh. They must've been arch enemies. "This is BEN, he's a glitch-- or virus of some sort, I don't really know, but he's pretty ditzy and carefree, but makes up for it in his kindness." She ruffled BEN's hair, heading over to Plague Doctor. "This is my homie," She couldn't hold back the shit eating grin when Plague Doctor gave her a look. "Plague Doctor. He's very intelligent, quiet and observing. Loves his research, books, experiments, science... Good guy to have a beer with."(Y/n) giggled, watching Axton nod in approval. Jane continued introducing up until it was (Y/n)'s turn to introduce Evan's crew.

Which didn't take long for them all to bond. Mostly over video games and various other guy-things (Y/n) and Jane didn't really understand. (Y/n) was glad Axton had found some friends, and she was glad he got everyone to at least smile again if not laugh. She watched as everybody got to know him better, sitting down next to Evan who had just finished rationing things out and tuning a guitar. She smiled at him as he admired the acoustic guitar. "Are you gonna play anything for us, Evan?" She asked, earning a nod from the Korean-Chinese boy. "Yeah, I'm thinking about--" "Something other than Megadeth?" Delirious interrupted, a chuckle erupting from Evan's lips. "Yeah. I'm thinking something Beatles?" He looked at (Y/n), who had grown excited again by the mention of the Beatles. "If you're gonna do Beatles, I wanna hear Here Comes the Sun."

Evan thought for a moment, before smiling at the young woman. "You know, (Y/n), I like that idea." He stood up, going into the middle of the room with a stool. (Y/n) smiled at him as he went up, scooting over into his spot and next to Delirious. Delirious didn't seem to mind, he was only happy to see Evan actually go up. Evan took a seat upon setting the stool down, positioning himself and putting his fingers on the cords before announcing. "Alright! We're gonna-- I'm gonna play some Beatles for you guys, song suggestion from (Y/n), so thanks (Y/n)." He spoke loudly for everyone's attention, earning it and hushed voices. "So, here goes."

And with that, he started playing. As well as a scoff from Jeff, who stood up and grabbed BEN by the arm, dragging him away with him and into the bathroom to rant and rave. BEN looked at him confusedly as they walked through the hallway, his smaller body being thrown into the bathroom and the door being slammed behind them. Jeff yelled angrily, punching the wall. "Aurgh!" He growled angrily, fuming. "Uhh, what's? Going on??" BEN asked confusedly, tilting his head at his best friend. "Axton! That stupid pretty boy kid, who just waltzes in here with his 'sad' story or whatever, just joining in lickity-split," He tried not to punch the wall again, but apparently not hard enough. He punched the wood wall again, this time breaking his skin and causing it to bleed. "All because goody-two-shoes Evan apparently became leader #1. Nobody asked what I thought about pretty boy Axton, no... Even though I'm leader too!" He let his hands bleed, his hands traveling up to his hair. He just wanted to rip it all out in frustration.

BEN didn't even know what to do. All BEN wanted to do was scare Axton shitless, maybe fuck around with him with pranks, but otherwise he didn't care about him. So he just listened to his frustrated best friend. "Useless! He's gonna end up being a fucking problem, gonna end up killing someone. He's gonna end up killing someone because of his lanky ass not being able to protect some dumbass, like (Y/n.)" He growled, his hands throwing up in the air every now and then. BEN knew Axton wasn't useless. He fixed cars for a living, and computers. He could be a huge help. And sure, he was lanky, but what did that matter? He wasn't gonna get someone killed. He just needed a gun or something, then he'd be good to go. "I dunno, Jeff. I think it'll be fine." "That's cause you think like a fucking idiot, BEN!" He yelled at him, his hand traveling to his temple to rub it just a bit to calm down. With a deep sigh, he did manage to calm himself down a bit. "Just... keep your fucking eyes out on him, would you? Make yourself useful." BEN's feelings were a bit hurt, but he couldn't say anything. Jeff wouldn't care. BEN didn't even know why they were best friends. Jeff chuckled a bit, opening the door a bit to leave. "Oh, I can't wait to kill him..."

-

hey there kiddos. it's me, xerxes.

so, i'm really sorry about the long wait on this chapter, but to make up for it i made it almost as long as the previous chapter.

but i'm happy to introduce axton a little more, give you the reader a little more spotlight and just a little more spotlight on the creepypastas.

and i hope y'all like the chapter, because i have a liiiiitle bit of bad news.

so, school for me and speedy is starting up. i'm moving on in high school while speedy just starts it, so we both need time to get used to our new schedules and find out what time we have after school.

which means there might possibly not be any new chapters for another couple of weeks, so i'm sorry about that as well. and i'm sorry to any new readers who may be all excited for the next chapters.

also, if anybody is interested enough to take poll for me about potentially a jason voorhees x reader or a plague doctor "x" reader, here it is: What Should I Write Solo?

feedback is always greatly appreciated! ciao! 

\- ya boy,

xerxes


	8. chapter seven, "broken"

hey guys it's me, speedy, back at you with a full chapter. oh yeah, could you guys give my older brother xerxes some feed back on his writing? he'd really appreciate it. after all, he has written two chapters for you guys. it's the least you could do.

(not only that but we both are working on this underappreciated fanfiction together, we know the plot and where it's going so he's probably a part time co-author right now. appreciate him, please.)

-

Jeff stormed through the hallway, hearing as his friends and acquaintances gave applause to Evan who just finished up 'Here Comes The Sun'. He could hear as Evan asked if anyone had any more requests and a few people were talking all at once before Evan had eventually picked up what one of them requested and began to strum the strings.

Jeff's body paused in the hallway just at the doorway that leads to the living room, the sound of Evan's guitar was louder to him as he stood close to it. Suddenly, the thought of Axton popped up in his head anstoppembered his anger for the newbie. Jeff was going to pass through the doorway so he could go into the living room to speak with his brother but was stopped when someone bumped into his chest.

His eyes traveled down to look at who had bumped into him thinking it was either (Y/n) or Lui because of their height, and his assumption had been correct when he seen (Y/n) holding her nose in pain on impact of running into Jeff face first. "I'm so sorry." (Y/n) said as she looked up at Jeff with apologetic eyes, which resulted in Jeff rolling his eyes and shoving her into the wall roughly.

"Watch your back, sweetheart." Jeff snapped roughly, remembering what he had said in the bathroom to BEN only a few minutes before. This caused (Y/n) to glare at him, as her calm and apologetic demeanor faded away as she pushed him into the wall with the same amount of force. "Fuck off, zodiac wannabe bitch." she remarked and pushed past him to go into the bathroom. Jeff rolled his eyes again opening his mouth to shout back before deciding against it and stormed his way to his brother, Liu, who was sitting on the sofa tapping his foot to the sound emitting from Evan's acoustic guitar while Axton was sitting on the arm of the sofa right beside him.

The raven haired male realized that the song that was playing had a familiar tune to it, but he couldn't set his finger on it. Nevertheless though, Jeff glared at Axton before pulling Liu out of his seat without a word coming from his mouth. His bony fingers looping around the sleeve of Liu's Jacket as he dragged him away from the sofa and out of the door, Liu ripped his arm out of Jeff's hand and pulled it back to his side as Jeff turned around.

"What the fuck, Jeff?" The brunette snapped at his brother who glared down at the mud silently, the anger seeping off of him. "I was enjoying tha-" Liu continued but Jeff interrupted suddenly as his hand grabbed Liu's hand roughly and he began stomping away from the cabin. The rain had stopped almost an hour ago so the ground was muddy and the sky had been getting darker, but this wouldn't stop Jeff as his feet took him through the mud and into the forest.

Liu eventually figured out that Jeff was in one of his angry moods, and he quietly let Jeff take him away. Jeff would usually take loved ones somewhere private so he could scream and shout about whatever made him upset. Jeff sighed angrily before stopping at a grassy area, his burnt out eyes moving toward his brother who's arms were crossed as he waited for what was to come.

"That kid is going to get someone killed." Jeff growled with zero context, confusing Liu as he began to turn away and walk in the direction opposite from the cabin. Liu rolled his eyes and followed Jeff as his monotone voice questioned him, "What 'kid' are you talking about?" was all that Liu had said, voicing his confusion before Jeff stopped abruptly in his path and whipped around to glare at his brother. "Axton." Jeff barked as he pointed to the direction of the cabin where light emitted from the trees presumably from the candles they had lit.

There was a slight pause before Liu laughed at his sudden accusation, shaking his head at the slightly shorter boy. "Jeffery, how do you know that Axton is going to get someone killed? You don't even know him." 

Jeff scoffed at his brother for using his full name, but decided to ignore it so he could continue making his ridiculous "point" that would be false. "He's useless, he can't do anything! Have you seen his muscles?" Jeff shouted, turning suddenly and punching a tree with the same hand that he used before. The bark fell off the tree and his knuckles were more skinned and bloodied from before. Liu just rolled his eyes at his little brother, shoving his hands into his pockets as Jeff glared at his more newly bloodied hand.

"I have not seen his muscles, but just because he probably isn't ripped like half the people in this group doesn't mean he's not helpful." Liu objected with a frown. "He's probably lying about being able to fix up cars or whatever because he wanted to get in my group so bad." Jeff growled and stomped away. Liu shook his head once more at Jeff's stupid comment, staring at his feet as they moved behind Jeff. "You're just overreacting, Jeff."

Jeff looked over his shoulder at Liu and gave him a strong glare, stopping in his tracks with clenched and bloodied fists. "Say that again when it comes to the point where someone weak like (Y/n) or Lui needs saving and Axton can't even remove them from whatever the fucking danger is because of how weak and pathetic he is!" Jeff screamed in anger, his bloody hand gesturing to the direction of where the cabin was.

Liu narrowed his eyes at his little brother as his arms crossed. "You haven't seen anything from him yet. You can't say shit about him without seeing him let one of our people die yourself. You shouldn't accuse someone of being useless when you barely even know them, Jeff." he snapped back, Jeff stumbled backwards in surprise at the fact his usually calm brother raised his voice at him before regaining his 'dominant' composure. 

"Shut the fuck up Liu. You don't know shit." Was all that could come out of Jeff's mouth. Jeff didn't want to admit he was wrong, he wanted his brother to agree that Axton was supposedly useless and could get someone killed just by being "weak". He couldn't even judge Axton considering he wore a jacket and there was almost no way he could see his muscles unless he took off his jacket. Liu knew Axton could take care of himself and the others around him, in fact this was normal because Jeff always assumed the worst from people because of his jealousy and greed. He was a very judgemental man, it was almost absurd.

The only the Liu could do was sigh, standing still with his arms crossed as he looked at Jeff who scoffed and turned away from Liu. "That kid is trouble and you know it, admit it." Jeff laughed dryly and started to walk quicker, ignoring the mud. Just so Liu couldn't argue back which only caused Liu to struggle with catching up to Jeff due to the mud. At this point Jeff was just ranting to himself as Liu gave up on trying to catch up. Lifting his leg out of the wet mud which made a disgusting noise that made him cringe slightly. Liu looked into the distance at the dirtied white hoodie that was now disappearing through the trees.

He could hear Jeff's loud laughter ahead, making him roll his eyes bitterly at how noisy the crazed wannabe joker could be. Liu began to turn back so he could return to the cabin with a low hum, figuring Jeff could take care of himself. He was caught by surprise when a walker had grabbed ahold of his shoulders, taking a large chunk of his neck with it's rotten teeth as Liu let out a pained scream as he tried to push away the walker from him but struggled as another walker came from behind him. The secondary walker bit into the flesh of Liu's arm and let out an inhuman groan. Liu screamed painfully and finally managed to kick the first walker to the ground, pushing the other one away from him as he screamed again but this time for his brother. 

Jeff stopped ranting to himself as he heard a familiar scream not far from where he was, turning back to see his brother wasn't behind him like he had been before. Suddenly Jeff became panicked and went into a state of adrenaline as he ran through the thick mud to where the scream had came from. Soon enough he stumbled upon the sight of his brother kneeling in the mud with blood pouring out of his neck and arm, tears flowing from his eyes as he looked up at Jeff in pain. 

The walkers growled as they began to get up again not far from the other but they wouldn't get too far. Jeff took out his knife and stomped to the two of them in anger, proceeding to jam his knife in one of them with brute force and then moved on to the next. The walker bare it's rotting teeth and stuck it's hand out in an attempt to grab him, but that attempt would fail when Jeff it's hand away from him and stabbed it quickly as Liu collapsed to the ground with a small cry.

He turned around as Liu rolled over, with a loud and rather pained sob. "No!" Jeff shrieked while he kneeled into the mud, gripping onto Liu's waist carefully in panic as he stared into Jeff's eyes in shock as he sobbed. "This can't be fucking happening." Jeff cried out as Liu looked up at him, "Jeff?" he whispered as he looked at his blood hands in pain. "Fuck.... I'm here." Jeff breathed out and hugged Liu close who still was trying to process what had just happened to him. Jeff had been trying not to cry but seeing his brother the way he was made him not hold back, tears falling on Liu's face.

"I'm sorry I-I couldn't save you. I should have paid attention to you I-" Jeff started stuttering but was cut off as Liu put his bloody hand on his lips in an attempt to shut him up. "It's not your fault Jeff." He grunted before trying to cough, giving a small wheeze. "They took me by surprise, they were so quiet. I was going to go back to the cabin." Liu explained, looking into Jeff's eyes as he cried silently. "This wouldn't of happened if I stayed close to you..." Jeff wept, gripping Liu tighter but his grip softened when Liu gasped because of the pain.

Liu shook his head, his greasy brunette hair matted with blood. "I-it's not your fault, Jeff. It's really not." Liu disagreed as he moved his arm which caused him to flinch a little. "Just- I know.... I don't have much time and I don't... I...." he began with hesitance, Jeff looking to his eyes in pain and curiosity. Liu sighed, not sure what to say but he needed to get it out. "I know this will hurt you but...."

"Just say it." Jeff demanded bitterly. "I don't want to end up like that one guy, Brock. I don't know what to say honestly so I'll just show you what I want." Liu assessed and used his uninjured arm/hand to lift up the inside of his coat where a revolver was placed in a hidden pocket. Jeff's eyes widened as he got the message and took the revolver carefully in his hands. He looked down at Liu with sad eyes, a tear falling from his eye as Liu simply just nodded.

Liu took Jeff's hand and sighed, aiming the gun toward his head for Jeff. "I just can't do that to m-myself. Y'know? I understand this isn't the best option but I hate suicide." Liu wheezed and caressed Jeff's cheek calmly as though he already accepted his fate. Jeff's memories of Liu flashed through his head including the time he almost managed to murder him but Liu came back, and since that time he'd grown a better bond. Jeff accepted what he had to do even though he wasn't really ready for it.

His finger was on the trigger applying low pressure. "I'm sorry, Liu." Jeff apologized once more with his voice breaking in the midst of it. Liu rolled his eyes. "Jeff, don't be. It's nobody's fault. S-stop. Just.... don't do anything stupid, don't fight with E-Evan anymore, don't act so assertive all the time when it's n-not your place to. I love you, little brother." Liu smiled before coughing, a singular tear rolling down his cheek. Jeff cried out, applying more pressure. "I love you too, Liu." He whispered out hoarsely before pulling the trigger.

At the cabin

Evan finished the song Liu had requested, which before Liu requested it he said it was his favorite song which Evan agreed to do it. Nobody knew where Jeff dragged him off but they didn't really care because they figured Jeff was gonna pull some shit. Evan finished the song despite Liu's disappearance, because he was already into the song and wasn't willing to stop playing it.

The large audience murmured quietly among themselves while Evan tuned his guitar to prepare for the next song he'd be playing. As soon as Evan was finished he quieted down his crew and sighed, looking at his guitar with sad eyes. "Is anyone willing to sing for me?" Evan called out, his voice echoing through the large living room of the cabin. The group looked between each other before someone finally decided they'd step up beside him, and that person was (Y/n).

(Y/n) wasn't really the type to sing in front of an audience but she had to face herself and get over it. Evan gave her a warm smile and she gave him one in response. Evan shifted in his seat as he began to quietly explain what he wanted to do, and she nodded along with a sad look in her eyes. The two stopped talking and Evan cleared his throat, strumming the first notes of the song as a warmup before starting the song.

"This is a song for our friend, Brock. I didn't really know him for as long as the other guys, but he was a nice guy. We lost him a few days ago... uh.. we really fucking miss him- he's in a better place now so...." (Y/n) announced, drumming her fingers on her thigh as Evan's part of the audience (his group/the original gang) gasped at the sudden mentioning of their lost friend and looked down in sadness but continued to listen.

It was (Y/n)'s turn to clear her throat as she began to sing the first line of the song. "Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done." She sang softly but loud enough for the group to hear her, Evan watched her silently. "Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more!" She continued to sing, Evan backing up her vocals with a quiet voice that sounded almost like a whisper but was still audible underneath (Y/n)'s.

Evan's fingers played while (Y/n) pulled her sleeves past her delicate hands as she waited for the instrumental bit to end so she could sing some more, but when Craig stood up from his spot on the floor and walked beside the two with his arms crossed. Craig looked upset but everyone knew he was pushing passed his grief so he could sing along with the short female who was a tad shocked by this, "Once I rose above the noise and confusion," both (Y/n) and Craig sang out in sync.

"Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion," (Y/n) sang the next part individually with Craig doing the next part on his own as well. "I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high." Then there was a pause between the two, the acoustic guitar in Evan's hands still playing at Evan's own pace. "Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man, though my mind could think I still was a mad man." (Y/n) sung this part this time, her (e/c) orbs looking at her friends and acquaintances teary eyed as she continued, "I hear the voices when I'm dreaming, I can hear them say."

This time both Evan, Craig and (Y/n) sung the chorus together, "Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more!" and at this point the people who knew Brock the best were sobbing, or were close to it anyway.

Tyler was whispering the lyrics under his breath as well, but he didn't join the three who were the main focus. "Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season." Evan sang out, his voice breaking halfway through singing his chosen line. "And if I claim to be a wise man,  
well, it surely means that I don't know." Craig sang this part, his grayish-blue eyes also looking at the people who were occupying the large room with (Y/n) who sighed quietly.

"On a stormy sea of moving emotion tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean." (Y/n)'s voice echoed throughout the room in an angelic way, her voice sounded almost like a siren's and it calmed a few of the boys who'd been listening to the threes (sort of?) planned duet. "I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say," she continued and her eyes adverted from the people seated on the chairs, couch, or the floor. "Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more." The three sang the chorus once more.

"Carry on, you will always remember." (Y/n) serenaded, her head tilting slightly to her left where Craig stood and he took this as his cue. "Carry on, nothing equals the splendor." he piped in and looked down at his feet, Evan's fingers continued to play the song. "Now your life's no longer empty. Surely heaven waits for you." Craig and (Y/n) harmonized together, the two of them sort of leaning into each other as they finished that particular part of the song.

Evan quietly cleared his throat and began to sing the next part with the other two in sync, "Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done." They paused for a second, (Y/n) glanced at Craig, Craig glanced at Evan, and Evan glanced at the floor. "Lay your weary head to rest," Evan began leaving the next bit for Craig, "Don't you cry," was what Craig ended up singing before he knudged the (h/c) haired female beside him. "Don't you cry no more," she piped in on what they were doing, grabbing Craig's hand in a comforting way when she noticed his eyes were getting teary.

"No more!" The three raised their voices on the last line of the song, and Evan stopped playing. He set the guitar down on the floor as everyone who knew Brock well, who'd been listening began to cry and gave the three their well deserved applause. (Y/n) gave a sad smile to Craig, relieved that she didn't have to sing anymore. Craig returned the smile, pulling his hand away from (Y/n)'s and leaving the room to go think about things. (Y/n) looked at her hand, the same one she used to hold Craig's.

Suddenly the front door slammed open, making everyone alarmed and full of surprise. Their hands going to a random object they could use as a weapon. For example, Evan grabbed the guitar off the floor and was raising it like a baseball bat, Jane was holding a table lamp, BEN had a chair that seemed a little too big for him, and David was holding onto Lui up like a doll and looked as though he was going to swing/throw the poor guy at whatever had just entered the gloomy cabin.

But they all set down whatever they picked up when they eventually figured out that this wasn't anyone dangerous, it was just Jeff. But something was off, the aggressive male was covered in someone else's blood and he was covered in mud, his pale white skin was puffy and red from crying. Liu wasn't with him, and everyone knew that he was with the angry man the last time they checked. The fact that Jeff looked like he'd been crying, covered in blood, and looked very upset and panicked only meant one thing for the group.

Liu was gone, and this time for good.

 

"Jeff, don't be. It's nobody's fault. S-stop. Just.... don't do anything stupid, don't fight with E-Evan anymore, don't act so assertive all the time when it's n-not your place to. I love you, little brother."

\- Homicidal Liu


End file.
